Alone in the Library
by maja3322
Summary: Just before the Easter holiday Draco and Hermione are locked in the Hogwarts Library. And there they'll have to remain for a week. Can they be civil with each other? And why did Draco get them in this mess to begin with?
1. First Night Alone

**First Night Alone**

"Miss Granger, the library closes in just a few minutes," came Madam Pince's voice came from the other end of the library.

"Okay, Mrs. Pince," Hermione yelled back and started gathering her things. She stabled all of her books, put some of them in her already heavy back pack and threw the back of her shoulder while she balanced the rest of her books on her arm. She glanced around on the table she had worked at. Nope, there was nothing she had forgotten. With a little happy grin she started walking towards the exit.

"Goodnight Miss Granger," Madam Pince smiled at Hermione as she walked by.

"Goodnight to you too, Madam Pince," Hermione said.

She almost made it to the door when she walked straight into a tall, hovering person and dropped all her books on the floor.

"Oh, great," she hissed, bent over and started picking up the books.

"You should watch your steps, Granger."

Hermione didn't need to look up to know who was talking. The evil smirk was evident in his mocking voice. It was a voice that Hermione knew all too well for her own liking. Draco Malfoy, that despicable git!

"I could say the same to you," Hermione replied without looking up. "You could help me, you know?"

Draco laughed a throaty, scorning laugh.

"You know I wouldn't do that, Granger," he laughed. "Not even if you were a queen. No, I enjoy seeing you at my feet."

At this Hermione abruptly stood and stared Draco straight in the eyes. She had to crane her neck to do so, but it didn't matter to her.

"Step aside, Malfoy," she hissed and tried to shove past him, but he wouldn't bulge. "Let me pass!"

He didn't move a centimetre. Instead he just glared at her with an evil smirk. Hermione loosened her stance and returned his glare angrily.

"What are you playing at, Malfoy?" she hissed, but got no other answer.

Suddenly she heard a loud crack and knew what had happened. All entries and exits from the library had been magically sealed. There was no getting out now.

"Malfoy!" Hermione shouted, dropped her books and hit him in the chest with open palms. His only response was a horse, throaty laughter.

"Are you aware of what you've just done?" Hermione shouted in outrage. "It's Friday night before the Easter vacation!"

"So?" Draco uttered his first word in a long time, and the sound of his indifferent voice sent Hermione into a fury.

"SO?!" she nearly screamed. "So, the library will remain closed for the next week! Nobody will come in here and we can't get out! Only Madam Pince has the ability to open these doors!"

"Then we'll just have to stay the week," Draco replied calmly, bent over and picked up her books. He studied each one of them intently not even caring that Hermione was ravenous. "A book about Muggle poetry?" he said sceptically. "Really Granger, what on earth would you use that for?"

Hermione snatched the book from his grip and beat his arm with it. She herself thought the blow was hard, but Draco just laughed at her.

"It's none of your bloody business!" she yelled and turned on her heel to leave.

With fierce, angry steps she strode towards the back of the great library, back to the table she had sat at earlier. She threw the Muggle Poetry book on the table and sat down with crossed arms. Draco came only a few seconds later and sat down opposite of her. Hermione did her best to ignore him, but it was hard when he was so obviously gleeful.

"What?!" she snapped at him and he laughed again. "How on earth could this be amusing to you?"

"You are so funny when you're angry," he just noted and comfortably leaned back in his chair.

"I find it hard to believe that you would lock us in a room together for a week just to see me get angry," Hermione spit at him and watched as his face became deadly serious. Ice erupted in her stomach and she swallowed hard to fight away the sudden fear.

"I didn't," Draco said and slowly rose, steadily inching towards her. "Though I do enjoy infuriating you, I will even admit that it's one of my favourite occupations, I have better things to do."

"Like spending Easter in a library with a dirty Mudblood?" Hermione asked sarcastically. Draco grinned.

"Like doing what is expected of me," he said gravely through his terrifying smile. His tone sent shivers of fear down Hermione's spine but she shook it off."

"What is expected of you?" she dared ask.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

They sat in silence just glaring at each other for a few minutes. Finally Hermione spoke.

"My family is expecting me home."

For a second she thought she saw sympathy flash on his face, but it was gone before she could tell for sure.

"Should that mean something to me?" he just with a sneer. "My family has never expected me to do anything else…"

He was about to say something more, but bit down hard on his lip before the words could escape him. Hermione didn't dare press him on the subject. Instead she picked up her discarded book and started reading. After only a few minutes she had to stop reading. She could feel Draco watching her intently and couldn't concentrate on her book. She snapped the book shut and threw him a nasty glance.

"Did you want something?" she asked with mock sweetness.

"Tell me about your family."

His request was absurd and totally unexpected. Hermione was caught off guard and unable to say anything for a few moments. Slowly she regained her cool.

"Why should I?" she retorted and opened the book again, but didn't even pretend to read.

"Can you think of something else to do right now that's better?"

"Plenty of things," she responded, not looking up from her book. "And neither of them involves you."

The retort was kind of childish, Hermione was only to aware of that. And apparently Draco was as well, since he started laughing and grabbed the book from her.

"My, my," he _tsk_ed her and threw the book over his shoulder. His grin widened as he heard Hermione gasp in horror at his action. "Aren't we a little feisty today?"

"Of course I am," she said sharply, stood up and collected the book, "I've been shut in a library with the one person I hate the most. Here I have to remain for a week while all my friends get to go home and spent the holiday with their families. Of course I'm feisty!"

"You could also be happy that you get to spend an entire week with Draco Malfoy," Draco suggested with a cocked eyebrow.

Hermione huffed in disgust.

"That's probably the part I hate the most," she said as she sat down again. "I can live without seeing my family, they'll forgive me. I can live in a library, Merlin I could probably here all my life. But you I just can't stand."

"Now Granger," Draco said with fake hurt covering his voice "you could at least try to be nice to me. We do have to be together for a long time. We might even get close."

Again Hermione's wit momentarily left her and she was unable to speak for another couple of seconds.

"We are only this close now because you followed me," Hermione replied. "If I had my way we would be in complete opposite sites of this place."

"You haven't asked me why I followed you," Draco pointed out.

"Why should I? You wouldn't answer anyway. Just like you won't tell me why you got us locked in here."

"You are absolutely right about that." He smirked smugly. "I just thought you were so eager for knowledge that you'd ask me anyway."

"Oh, forget it Malfoy!"

"Sure, if you tell me about your family."

The ultimatum was not at all appealing but Hermione decided to take the easy way out.

"Fine, what do you want to know?"

Draco smiled in triumph and placed his feet on the table and his hands behind his head.

"What do you parents do for a living?"

"They're dentist." Hermione didn't feel like going to much into detail and decided to keep it short.

"And that is…?" Draco prompted her to continue, but Hermione just waved her hand at him, impatiently waiting for the next question. "Oh, come on Granger, you might as well tell me!"

"Fine, it means they take care of people's teeth."

Draco looked very confused at this.

"Can't people do that by themselves?"

"They're Muggles, Draco," Hermione responded impatiently.

"Oh, right. How did you parents feel about you fighting in the war? Or didn't they know?"

Draco saw how he struck a nerve as Hermione instantly clammed up and became pale.

"They didn't know," she finally said, crossed her arms and turned her face away from him. Draco was utterly confused by her strange reaction and decided to probe around some more.

"How could they not know?"

"They just didn't okay?!" Hermione snapped with a finality that was undeniable. Draco grinned to herself.

"A wee bit touchy, huh?"

"Shove off, Malfoy!"

"I'll take that as a yes."

Hermione spun around in her chair and stared him straight in the eyes with a mix of hurt and anger Draco had never seen before.

"And what about your parents?" she threw at him. "What did they think when you were doing Voldemort's bidding during sixth year? I bet they were proud as Hell that their precious little Pureblood was chosen for such an honourable task!"

Her face was red and she was breathing heavily when she finished. Draco sat quite still and appeared to have taken it all in without any hurt at all. But the truth was far from what he showed. In fact all her words and hit like gigantic hammers, each blow sending him nearer and nearer the edge of his breaking point. But he managed to brush it all off like what she said didn't mean the slightest thing to him.

"We weren't talking about my parents, Granger," he said calmly, constantly fighting the rage in his chest. "We were talking about yours."

"Yeah, well, now we're not anymore. Actually, I suggest that we just stop talking at all. It's getting late, I'd like some sleep."

"Then go to sleep."

"With you watching me?" Hermione said through gritted teeth. "I have a limit Malfoy, and that would be crossing it."

"Okay, then stay awake. It's more fun like that anyway."

"Ugh, fine I'll stay up since you clearly can't bear being without me!" Sarcasm was always the most effective defence.

With a flick of her wand she transfigured her wooden chair into a more comfortable armchair. She carefully leaned back and rested her head on the comfortable headrest and sighed contently. When she opened her eyes again she was back to the calm and rational woman Draco recognised from class.

"Why are we hear, Malfoy?" she calmly asked.

"Because we're locked in and you wanted to go to the back of this place so I followed."

Hermione tilted her head to the side and sighed.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she said with a tired voice.

"Yes, I know that," Draco responded. "Let's just say that we're here because I couldn't fight anymore."

His cryptic words scared her slightly and she wrapped her arms tightly around her chest to steady her shaking body.

"Couldn't fight what?" she whispered, but Draco just watched her with scrutinizing, grey eyes. "Couldn't fight your family? Your father? Your instincts to torture Muggleborns? Fight what, Malfoy?"

"You'll to figure that out for yourself," Draco whispered back as he leaned closer to her. His feet mate contact with the floors and his arms rested peacefully in his lap as his face came closer and closer to hers. He stopped as his nose was just a few inches away from hers. "But the truth probably would suit you that much."

His cold voice made her tremble and this didn't pass Draco unnoticed. He chuckled lightly and conjured a blanket which he almost gently wrapped around Hermione's shivering, little frame.

"Here you go Granger," he said and drew back again. "You look like you cold."

Hermione was lost of words, which was very unlike her. Finally she said the words she never thought she would say to her worst enemy (Voldemort not included of course), "Thank you."

"You sound like that's the worst thing you could ever have said to me," Draco laughed. "You curse me, yell at me and hit me with no second thought. But when it comes to thanking me you would probably rather rip your heart out."

Instead of answering straight away, Hermione just muttered the same spell over Draco's chair as she had just done with her own. Draco's eyes widened in wonder as his chair became a comfortable, black leather armchair.

"How do you feel about thanking me now?" Hermione asked with a sly smile but didn't wait for a reply. She huddled up with the blanket wrapped tightly around her and closed her eyes. Just before she fell asleep she heard Draco mutter under his breath, "No matter what you do to me, you won't ever hear me thank you." Then the world went black and she slept peacefully.

_**Okay, tell me what you think. Please review.**_


	2. First Morning Alone

**First Morning Alone**

"Granger, wake up!" the angry sneer startled her and ripped her from her dream. A very nice dream of Easter Eggs and family dinner.

"What…?" she asked confused and rubbed her fist against her eyes to get rid of the sleep.

"You're snoring," the voice said and suddenly Hermione was wide awake.

"Was not!" she yelled and leapt out of her comfy chair. "I don't snore!"

"You did just now," Draco said with a smug smile and his hands on his hips.

"Humph," was Hermione's only response. How could she prove that she didn't snore? It simply wasn't possible. Then her stomach started rumbling and the entire truth of their lousy situation hit her. "I'm hungry," she growled and leered angrily at Draco, who just kept on smiling at her. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Nope," he just answered but didn't elaborate. Hermione got impatient and didn't wait for him to continue.

"Why not?" she prompted.

"Because I just ate," Draco answered like it was the most natural response in the world. "I tend not to be hungry once I've eaten."

Hermione felt her face redden in anger, but she kept the strong emotion under control.

"Mind telling me how you got food?" she growled at him. Hermione really wasn't a morning person. And her immense hunger sure didn't help. Nor did Draco's attitude, which suddenly seemed to bother her more than it ever had before.

"Why, I got it from the kitchen," Draco said like it was the most obvious thing ever. "Really, Granger I thought you were smart. Well, let me just teach you something then: food can be found in a kitchen. Oh, and get this! It can even be _cooked_ in a kitchen! Isn't that truly magical?" the heavy sarcasm dripped from his every word and spurred on Hermione's anger. Finally the dam broke and she started yelling forcefully at him.

"I know that you truly foul git! How did you get to the kitchen?! Every exit is magically closed!"

Draco started laughing at her anger, but responded just the same, "Granger, there's a kitchen in the library. Really, I thought you knew that since you spend your every waking hour here."

"Drop it Malfoy," Hermione sneered. "A kitchen in a library? Come on!"

"Okay if you don't believe me I guess you'll just have to starve."

Her anger raged in her for another couple of seconds before she released it and closed her eyes gently. Composing herself she said, "Could you… _please _(the word almost wouldn't form in her mouth and it certainly was painfully hard to force it out) tell where the kitchen is?"

He didn't answer her. When she opened her eyes he was gone.

"Malfoy!" she shouted slightly panicked. One thing was being alone with _him_ in the library for a week. But it was better than being being totally alone. And now he was gone. "MALFOY!"

"Stop your bloody shouting!" his angry voice came from the other end of the library. "I'm still here and you're damaging my ears!"

"Wouldn't be the only damaged thing on you when I get my hands on you," Hermione muttered under her breath as she started walking towards the place she estimated his voice came from. She found him 6 shelves further down. He was leaning casually against the shelf with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"You found me," he smiled mockingly at her. "Watch."

There was nothing Hermione felt less like doing. He was enjoying saving her butt way too much for his own good and for Hermione's liking. He laughed when he saw the anger and conflict in Hermione's face. Then he went to stand in front of the bookcase and tabbed three times on a dusty, old book with his wand. A swishing sound from her left made Hermione jump around and face the wall next to the bookcase. But instead of the wall there was now a door. Draco grinned when he opened it and went into the little kitchen.

"Here you go," he said. "Kitchen."

Suspiciously and cautiously Hermione followed him into the room and looked around. Sure enough, it was a kitchen like any other she had seen. She then turned to look at Draco. He was surprised to see a slight hint of admiration in her deep, brown eyes.

"How did you know about this place?" she asked wonderingly.

"I made it a habit to watch Madam Pince while she worked," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "She uses this room a lot when there aren't any students in the library."

The words instantly made the admiration fade from Hermione's eyes and she was back to being suspicious.

"Why would you watch Madam Pince?" she asked and slowly started backing away from him. She was scared. He smiled slyly at her and followed her around the little kitchen table. She couldn't get away when her back hit the counter. Draco was towering above her and placed a hand on either side of her. She was utterly and completely trapped.

"Why?" he said still with the same, sly smile. "Well, we wouldn't have much fun in here if we didn't know where to find food."

With those words he nodded mockingly at her, turned around and left with long, forceful steps. Hermione felt her knees go week. They bucked under her, and suddenly couldn't keep her upright anymore. She slumped to the floor and silently wrapped her arms around her knees while leaning against the counter. Her breath quickened as panic flooded through her veins.

'_He ha__s planned this!'_ her mind screamed at her. _'He's been planning this for only Merlin and himself know how long! He tricked me!'_

The sudden realisation of that made her breath stick in her throat. She was alone in the library for a week with her enemy. That was bad enough when she thought it was an accident. But now she suddenly realised that that very same enemy actually _planned_ to get her alone. The thought was frightening beyond anything else.

Finally she gathered herself enough to get up and look for some food. She found toast in a cupboard and butter in the fridge. She sat at the table eating all alone while trying to figure out what to do. The most logical thing would be to get a message out to her friends to let them know what had happened to her. They would surely come help her out. One way or another Ron and Harry would help her, she was sure of it. Yes, a message to them would be the best idea. But how to do it? She couldn't get her hands on an owl. And she hadn't gotten around to learning how to make a speaking Patronus. To be truly honest she still had trouble conjuring a full-bodied Patronus. There had to be some other way. Only she didn't know what it could be. Suddenly an idea struck her. It was pure brilliance. She was stuck in a _library_! There had to be a book somewhere about message-magic. Filled with a new hope she swallowed the last bite of her toast and walked out of the kitchen.

She stopped at Madam Pince's desk and started looking around it to find the index-book. In this book you could find a list of all the subjects you could possibly imagine and when the subject had been found it also said where in the library books about the subject were. So of course this book would be good to have. She finally located it and quickly grabbed it.

Just as she was about to open it, Malfoy's voice sounded behind her, "What have you got there Granger?"

Hermione spun around, pressing the book against her chest protectively.

"It's a book, Malfoy," she said, hoping desperately that the mock in her voice over clouded the fear and panic she felt. "Book are very common in a library, I thought even you would know that."

"That's not what I meant," Draco said with a frown. He was getting suspicious. "What kind of book is it?"

Hermione's brain worked overtime trying to figure out if she could tell him. Well, it couldn't hurt. Could it?

"It's the index-book," she answered, dropping her defences a little. She certainly didn't wish for him to be suspicious. No good could come of a suspicious enemy.

"And what would you need that for?" he asked her, now cocking his eyebrow. "I thought you knew exactly where everything was in this place."

"Not everything," Hermione quickly replied. "I… I wanted to find a book on Wizarding poetry. You know, to compare it to the Muggle poetry book I have. I figured that since we're stuck here I might as well do something useful with my time."

Draco's eyebrows returned to normal, but there was still suspicion in his stormy grey eyes.

"Hmm," he thought out loud "I guess _you_ would consider reading a useful use of time."

She smiled hesitantly at him and waited for him to leave, but he stood as rooted to the floor.

"So?" he urged her on. "Aren't you going to find what you are looking for?"

"Uh…" Hermione hesitated. "Not right now I think. I want to read the Muggle book first." She flashed him another smile and went to their comfortable chairs. He followed her, constantly less than three paces behind her. She cursed inwardly. She had hoped that he didn't want to go with her. She had hoped to be left alone. But obviously Draco didn't do anything she wanted him to. She reached their table and reluctantly put down the index-book and picked up the Muggle poetry book. Draco followed straight behind and slouched down into his own chair watching her intently. She pretended to read, but kept an eye on the index-book at all times.

Suddenly he reached forward and grabbed it of the table. She felt her heart pound wildly in her chest. She watched him as he opened the book and casually leafed through it. He smiled when he evidently found what he had been looking for. He rose and left without a word or a glance in her direction. To Hermione's immense displeasure he took the index-book with him. When he was gone she started hyperventilating. He had taken her hope away from her! She needed that book! It would take too long to search the entire library for one, single book about message-spells. She was doomed, she knew it. Somehow Draco had seen through her and discovered her lie. Had he used Occlumency on her? No, he couldn't have. Wouldn't she have known? According to Harry you experienced the same thoughts and memories as the caster of the spell did. She hadn't felt a thing when she was lying to Draco. But then how could he have known?

Only a minute later did Draco return. He had a book with him, but Hermione's heard sank when she saw that it wasn't the index-book.

"Here you go," Draco said and threw her the book. She caught in and looked at the title.

'_Wizarding Poetry through__out the World and within the 19__th__ and 20__th__ Century'_

Shock hit her hard in the stomach as she reread the title. He had gotten her the book she had told him she needed?

"What'd you do that for?" she asked while putting the book away.

"Granger, I believe thanks would be the right thing to say in a situation like this," Draco said and actually sounded a little hurt underneath the contempt. "Never mind though, I didn't do it for you. I was bored and figured that I might as well pick up that book you wanted."

Hermione was tongue-tied and dumb.

"What about the index-book?" she dared ask when she finally regained control of her tongue.

"You don't need that now so I put it away."

Darkness threatened to take over Hermione but she fought against it with all her might.

"Thank you," she whispered, but felt utterly defenceless and weak as she muttered the words.

"Never mind," Draco just repeated, sat back down in his chair and resumed watching her. A shiver ripped through Hermione's body, and she pulled the blanket tightly around her. What could she do now?

_**So another chapter is up. Tell me what you think of it, please.**_

_**I know this is pretty much totally opposite of what I usually write. Usually my stories are extremely fluffy and this might be kind of dark, but I decided to challenge myself a little. And I'm actually enjoyed it rather much. It's also fun to write something with a little more plot than just L-O-V-E. But please tell me your thoughts on this story.**_


	3. First Afternoon Alone

**First Afternoon Alone**

Hermione didn't realise that she had fallen asleep before something shook her shoulder violently.

"Granger!" Draco's urgent voice reached into her dream and wrenched her from it. She slowly opened her eyes and looked straight into his pools of swirling silver. She shivered the memory of what had happened before she fell asleep. The book she had been pretending to read had slipped from her grasp and was lying open on the floor. Neither of them went to pick it up.

"What is it Malfoy?" she whispered, still tired and half asleep.

Draco straightened up and glared at her through narrow eyes. His stance was defensive with his hands on his hips and his legs slightly spread. Standing tall above her was the incarnation of frightening in her eyes.

"You fell asleep," he stated and went back to his own chair.

"Gosh, thanks for telling me that, I hadn't noticed," Hermione bit at him sarcastically. "Why'd you have to wake me up then?"

"It's no fun being trapped in a library with a girl who spends all her time sleeping," Draco stated with an air of indifference.

"Really?" Hermione said still sarcastic. "Then what would be fun being trapped with? A troll? Or a unicorn? Perhaps a house elf?"

Draco laughed sharply but without even an ounce of pure joy. He was ice all the way through, she realised. And she had a fire burning inside herself.

"I own sarcasm Granger," he said with a sneer that almost turned Hermione's blood to ice, "and I didn't give you permission to use it."

Quickly Hermione let her gaze drop from his face to her hands. They were wrapped tightly together. She was nervous. Hopefully Draco didn't realise her current state of mind. That would do her no good.

"Malfoy, why are we here?" Hermione whispered, voice slightly trembling, still staring at her joined hands.

"I told you already," Draco hissed impatiently. "It's my duty."

His vague answer suddenly sparked a hidden anger in Hermione's chest. She snapped her head up to look him straight in the eye. It pleased her to see that he seemed to recoil slightly from her angry stare.

"Enough of that, Malfoy!" she spat at him. "Just tell me the truth already!"

Draco quickly composed himself and returned her angry glare.

"I did," he said with acid dropping from the two words. "It's my duty. It's my responsibility."

Hermione jumped to her feet.

"It's your duty and responsibility to stay locked in the school library with me for a week?!"

Draco rose as well and hovered about a foot above her.

"Yes," he hissed, the word almost burning a hole right through her. "Now let it go. I'll say no more on the subject."

For a long second Hermione thought he was going to hit her, but then he took a deep breath, turned his back to her and walked away. With angry steps he stomped away and left Hermione alone. Suddenly she felt as if all her newly gained strength left her and she slumped heavily to the floor. She worked hard to regulate her hard breathing. In… out… in… out. It sounded easy, but the fear clouding her brain and the painful swelling in her chest made it almost impossible. After a couple of minutes she found herself strong enough to stand again, and decided to go to the kitchen for some food. She glanced at her birthday watch. 1 o'clock. They had now been together for 15 hours. She found it hard to believe that she had survived that long. As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she began wondering how long she would still be alive. Was his plan really to kill her? Or perhaps it was something else. Something worse even. She shook her head and abandoned the dark subject. She would not think of death.

When she reached the kitchen the door was open. And of course Draco was sitting at the table enjoying his own lunch. Yep, she was just that lucky. She sighed heavily and entered the kitchen careful not to look at him. She did all she could to imagine that he wasn't even there. But Draco is a hard man to ignore. He doesn't let anyone treat him like air.

"Ignoring me Granger?" Draco asked, not looking away from his breakfast cereal. Hermione didn't answer. "I guess you are." She said nothing. Draco sighed and the sound was actually human. "You are making this hard than it has to be, Granger."

Hermione, who had been looking in a cupboard for something to eat, noisily shut the cupboard and whirled around to stare at his lean back.

"This _has_ to be hard Malfoy, because we are two people who hate each other and we are stuck! And to make it worse _you_ did this on purpose and you won't even tell me why!"

"Not true," Draco remarked. "I _have _told you."

"Oh, right!" Hermione said more sarcastic than ever, her voice rising an octave above normal, and clapped her hands together. "It's your duty!" She huffed and shook her head. "There's got to be more to it than that."

Draco turned in his chair and sent her a fierce look.

"You want more?" he whispered vehemently. "It's my duty as a Malfoy!"

The words hit Hermione like a whip, but did nothing more than that. There was no sudden epiphany. She was still stuck with a man she hated and she didn't have a clue why. What did his family suddenly have to do with everything? If anything she was more confused than before. She sighed in defeat and shook her head again.

"If you say so Malfoy," she said and turned again to look for something to eat.

"Are you declaring your defeat?" Draco said suddenly very close to her ear. She could even feel his hot breath grace her earlobe. She felt his body heat radiating off of him and it enveloped her like a fever.

"No," she whispered. "I just don't have the strength to argue anymore."

He laughed a low, husky laugh, and the sound made her tremble.

"I take that as a half defeat then," he declared. Then his presence was gone. She heard him pull out his chair and sit back down again. "And I'm half a winner. But I should warn you: I never do anything halfway."

Easy to say Hermione felt warned. The threat was evident in his voice, but she couldn't decipher if the threat was bad and evil or just teasing. That was the problem with Draco Malfoy; you never knew just where you had him. Or if you had him at all. He was a constant mystery. Hermione located the breakfast cereal in a drawer and poured herself a bowl. She didn't sit down at the table with Draco, but leaned the small of her back against the counter while she ate. Again Draco was watching her every move. It was beyond annoying.

"Why do you do that?" she finally snapped at him and it seemed that he was drawn from some sort of daydream.

"Do what?" he said honestly wondering what she could possibly mean.

"Watch me like that."

"Well, there's not much else to do around here," Draco defended himself, but Hermione heard the lie in his voice. And then he smirked at her.

'_Oh, Merlin's grey beard!' _Hermione's brain screamed at her. _'He is watching you to make sure you don't do anything he doesn't want you to do. Like get away. Well, it's official now: I'm his prisoner.' _

Of course she didn't utter these thoughts. They were better left unsaid. Instead she simply muttered, "You _could_ read a book."

Draco laughed and stood up again slowly nearing her. She could help but shy away a little and Draco stopped dead in his track. She almost thought she saw pain in his eyes, but it was replaces by a contempt she couldn't ignore.

"Are you afraid of me, Granger?" he asked, slightly mocking.

"Not afraid," she said underlining her false words with a shake of her head. "But creeped out."

Again Draco laughed, and this time he actually sounded amused.

"By me?"

She nodded.

"Why?"

"Because you stare at me, and your only explanation is that you have nothing better to do."

"So?"

"So? That's creepy. There's plenty of other things for you to do."

"What? Besides reading books that is."

Hermione thought for a moment, but could offer him nothing else that wouldn't require a book. Instead she just shrugged.

"Use your imagination."

"I did. And then I decided to watch you. Is that really so bad?"

Her mouth fell open and she made no attempt to hide her shock.

"Bad?! Oh no, it's not bad. It utterly wrong and perverse!"

"How is it wrong?" Draco didn't sound the least bit affected by her outrage.

"Because you hate me and to top it off I hate you as well!"

"That doesn't mean that I can't look at you. I never said I was enjoying the view."

That did it for Hermione. She could no longer keep her anger contained. She lifted her hand to slap him, but Draco caught her wrist. She didn't like to admit it, but he had hurt her with what he had said. It had hurt her pride and self-esteem that he didn't like her looks. It shouldn't have hurt her but it did. Draco laughed tauntingly while he held her wrist in the air. Angrily she tore herself from his grip and swept past him. She left the kitchen with him following straight behind her. This time she didn't try to hide where she was going. And she made no attempt of trying to hide her actions and her intents. She stopped dead at Madam Pince's table and started looking for the index-book. Draco stood behind her watching her intently, but she ignored him completely. After a good, long search she found it in a drawer underneath a pile of old parchments. She grabbed the book with a pleased and happy sigh and started leafing through it. Draco's eyes widened in shock when he saw what she was doing.

"Granger, put that book away," he sneered at her.

"No."

The single, defiant word sparked Draco's anger.

"What are you looking for?"

"Message-spells," Hermione replied, still leafing through the book. "I'm getting out of here with Ron and Harry's help."

Just when she had located the right subject, the book was snatched from her grip. She looked up just in time to see the book burning in Draco's hand.

"NO!" she screamed and leapt forward to save the book, but Draco caught her around her chest with his free arm and pinned her arms to her body. She tried to get free, but Draco was surprisingly strong. She could do nothing more than watch her hope go up in smoke.

"You're not going anywhere," Draco hissed in her ear. The venom with which he said the words with made her faint from fear. But not before she managed to spit him in the face.

_**So, what are you thinking? Please review.**_

_**Did you know that reviews are essential for the writing process? No? Well, then support my writing with a review – reviewing does not guarantee you a character in the story named after you or a speedy update **_


	4. Second Night Alone

**Second Night Alone**

The sun was setting when she woke up again. She was surprised to find that she was sitting in her chair with the blanket around her shoulders. When she glanced around she quickly noticed Draco sitting in his own chair staring at her. His jaw was tightly clenched and the look in his eyes was unreadable. She blinked a few times but held his gaze. Finally Draco blinked as well and the connection between them was broken.

"Finally," Draco said as if he were bored "you woke up. Really Granger, I've never seen anyone faint just because a book was being burned."

"That wasn't why I fainted."

Draco's brows furrowed but he didn't comment on her outburst. His eyes never swayed from her face, and Hermione began feeling uncomfortable under his scrutinizing stare.

"Stop it." She had meant to sound firm and strong, but the words came out in a low whisper. Draco's smirked, but didn't do as she had asked him to. His grey eyes kept on staring at her. "Malfoy, stop it!" This time her voice had more force, but it was still embarrassingly pleading. Draco chuckled and this time did as he was asked. He rose from the chair and started pacing around in the little corner of the library they had resided in.

"Is it really that horrible when I look at you?"

"Yes, it's horrid."

Draco nodded and kept on walking. His face was suddenly grave and he looked like he was lost in thought. Hermione's thoughts also started drifting, and suddenly she remembered something Draco had said the first night of their imprisonment.

"You said you couldn't fight anymore," she whispered to herself, but loud enough that Draco could hear her. He instantly stopped pacing and spun around to look at her. Hermione didn't notice this however, she was busy piecing together the few pieces of information Draco had given her. In three steps he was standing right in front of her, but she still didn't pay attention to him. He crouched down in front of her, and studied her face as she thought and her brain worked.

"I said that, yes," he whispered, and suddenly Hermione became aware of how close they were. She lifted her head to meet his eyes. They were surprisingly soft, and momentarily threw Hermione's thoughts out of course.

"And…" Hermione struggled to piece together her train of thought. "And it's your duty. Your responsibility."

Draco sneered, but the sound wasn't as evil as it used to be.

"Now you're just repeating what I've already said," he said sullenly. "You can do better than that, can't you?"

"You've been trying to fight against you duty as a Malfoy, you've been fighting against your father's wishes. But now you've finally caved in. And here we are. You have me."

"Here we are," Draco replied in an almost soft whisper. Then he got up and turned his back against her. "You're right about half of that, Granger. But what you are right about is only half the truth. You'll have to dig a little deeper to find the rest of it." He started walking away, but Hermione stopped him.

"You won't give me anything more?" she pleaded as she rose and walked toward him. "You haven't told me anything."

Draco turned slightly so he could watch her as she stood behind him.

"I want you to figure this out for yourself," he said neutrally. "I'll make some dinner." The sudden change of subject shocked Hermione. It was such a trivial thing to say, but she'd never think Draco Malfoy would be saying those words to her.

Dumbstruck she could only mumble a short reply, "Okay."

Draco smiled, the smile was nearly pleasant, and said, "I'll call you when it's done." Then he was gone.

To say that Hermione was shocked would be an understatement. She was utterly confused and out of her mind. She had no idea where the considerate Draco had suddenly come from. Just a few hours ago he had taken away her hope of escape and declared that she had to stay with him. And why hadn't he commented on her spitting him? That was so unlike him. Normally he would have made fun of it, tormented her with it and probably called her names. But he hadn't done that. In fact he had almost seemed concerned. Could that be because of the job he had to do for his father? Perhaps his father wanted her alive. But why? There was nothing special about her. She was just a young girl with a brain a little bigger than the average. The war was over, so what could this all be about? Revenge? Then why hadn't Lucius come already? What did she have that nobody else did? Something that Malfoy Senior could be interested in. And suddenly she knew. She staggered back to her chair and fell into it. She knew what she had that Lucius could want. If he was after revenge it was only fair that he would want Harry Potter, the boy that had killed Voldemort. And how better to get Harry than to take one of his two best friends?

She remained in the chair for some minutes trying to wrap her mind around her realisation. It fit the scenario she was in alright. It was the best explanation she could come up with. She would have to accept it as the truth in order to find a way out of the mess she had landed in.

Slowly she started listing the things she knew for certain:

1. She was locked in the library with Draco Malfoy

2. There was no way of getting out

3. Draco had gotten them locked in on purpose

4. He said he was doing his duty as a Malfoy after having fighting it

5. He had burned the index-book and then stated that she wouldn't be going anywhere

Yeah, when she put it like that it sure didn't look good for her. But those were just the things she knew for certain. Then there were the things she had guessed:

1. Lucius Malfoy wanted revenge over Harry and probably also over Ron and herself

2. He was going to use her to get to Harry and perhaps Ron as well

Well, that certainly didn't make it any better. Now she just had to figure out what to do next. What would be the best and smartest course of action? Contacting Harry and Ron was now completely out of the question. Not just because Draco had burned the index-book but also because it might lead them into a trap. She couldn't risk that. But that didn't really make any sense did it? Why would Draco burn the book if he really did want her to contact Harry? And what did he mean when he said she had only guessed half the truth? There was definitely something wrong. And she would be damned if she didn't figure out what it was.

Next step on her agenda was to come up with a new plan. She had already established that there would be no contacting neither Harry nor Ron. But perhaps someone else? Someone in the Order would be best. But who could she contact, who would be able to help her? If only Sirius, Remus, Tonks or Alastor had still been alive. They would definitely know what to do after she had contacted them. But they were dead. Suddenly Hermione remembered that she and Draco were not completely alone. There was someone else on Hogwarts grounds. Someone who never left because he lived there. A man whom she knew very well, whom had been her friend since first year and who was also a member of the Order. Rubeus Hagrid.

A new hope suddenly flared in her chest. Yes, she was sure that Hagrid was just the person to help her. He knew school ground better than almost anyone else. If anyone could find a way into the Library it would be him, she thought. And he wasn't that far away. Perhaps she could try the talking Patronus. Perhaps it was easier when she didn't have to send it that far away.

Filled with a sudden confidence she sprang out of the chair and raised her wand. Why waste time, she thought. She was alone, Draco was busy elsewhere. She might as well just try and see what could happen. Sure, she'd never been able to make a talking Patronus, but once had to be the first time, right? She could see no other choice than to try and to practice. She closed her eyes and thought hard of a happy memory. It was this part of the spell that always bothered her. She had trouble maintaining the memory in her head while speaking the incantation. She focused hard on her memory. It might be silly, but the memory she had chosen was the memory of the time when Ron and Harry had saved her from the troll. It was a memory filled with fright but also happiness beyond belief. That had been the time when she realised that they would be friends forever. The memory was probably the happiest she had.

"_Patronus,"_ she said and a silver otter erupted from her wand. She had no idea if it would be able to speak. But there was no time for her to figure it out.

Before she could realise what was happening she was lying on the floor pressed beneath a hard body, the wand fell from her grasp and the otter disappeared. She wriggled and struggles to get free, but Draco had her pinned underneath himself.

"What are you doing, Granger?!" he hissed aggressively in her ear.

"Just practising," Hermione stuttered. Her brain was working hard to figure out how she had gotten in this situation.

Draco laughed harshly.

"Don't lie to me," he continued hissing. "Don't think I don't know what a Patronus can do. You were trying to send a message to someone, weren't you?"

Hermione pressed her lips together and refused to answer. But her silence was answer enough for Draco. He sighed and released her hands and raised himself from her upper body, but still straddled her thighs between his own. He ran a hand over his eyes and looked enormously tired. Hermione almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"Why can't you just accept that we have to be here?" he asked her. She was about to give him a heated answer, but he silenced her with a finger on her lips. "I know, I know. It's not in your nature to surrender. I should know."

He grinned; a lopsided grin that Hermione reluctantly had to admit was kind of sexy. He got off of her completely and stood up. He offered her a hand to help her up, but Hermione childishly ignored his gesture and got up herself. She stumbled a little, feeling the pain on her hip from the hard collision with the wooden floor. Draco reached out to steady her, but Hermione was still angry and brushed his hand away. She bent over to pick up her wand and put it in the back pocket of her tight jeans.

"Really Granger, you are incredibly stubborn," Draco remarked, but Hermione refused to answer. "There I was making us dinner, a quite wonderful dinner if I may say so, and then I find out that you are scheming to get out of here…"

He clearly wasn't done talking, but Hermione interrupted him.

"How did you know?"

"Excuse me?"

"How did you know about the Patronus?"

Suddenly Draco looked a little guilty.

"Look at your right wrist."

Hermione hesitantly did as he said. What she was there startled her. Around her wrist was a black, twisted line drawn on her skin. She rubbed the line to try and get it away but of course it didn't help. The line was still there. It was magical.

"What's this?" she angrily shot at Draco, who seemed to shrink away from her.

"It's a spell-tracer."

'_Wow,'_ came the totally irrational response from Hermione's brain. She should have thought something along the lines of _'How dare he?!' _or perhaps _'I hate him!'_. But instead she felt a weird sort of admiration forming in her chest. A spell-tracer was extremely advanced magic. She hadn't tried it herself, but knew it was almost impossible to get. And apparently this one worked. He had known exactly what spell she had cast.

"When did you do this?" was the only thing she could get herself to ask.

"After you fainted," Draco said. "I realised that you were… unstable. I needed some way to know exactly what you were doing." He paused, trying to find the words for what he wanted to say. "I really didn't want to have to go to those lengths, but you gave me no choice. Really Hermione, you have to believe me when I say that it's for your own best."

"But I don't believe you," she whispered. "I can't trust you. Especially not after this."

Draco sighed and bowed his head. "I never imagined you'd say anything other than that. You'll just have to find out for yourself." He sighed again and started turning to leave her again, but halfway around he paused and shot a look at her over his should. "By the way, dinner's ready."

"I'm not hungry," Hermione said with her arms crossed over her chest. It was childish, she knew it, but there was no way she was going to eat with him after this.

"I figured you'd say something like that," he said with a little smile. "I've put a warming charm on your portion. You can eat it whenever you want."

"Fine," there was no way in Hell she was going to thank him.

"You know you really are making this more difficult than it needs to be."

She decided she might as well continue being childish. She stuck out her tongue at him and turned her back at him. She could her him chuckle as he left.

_**Review, please! I like it so much! It keeps the story flowing from my fingers. Without reviews my fingers will wither and die one by one. Please save my fingers!**_

_**Or something less dramatic…**_


	5. Second Morning Alone

**Second Morning Alone**

Fine, she admitted it. His food had been really good. Once she had cooled off and was sure that he had left the kitchen, she sneaked in there and ate the magically warmed food. He had made spaghetti with meat balls from scratch. It was quite impressive. And really tasty. She didn't mind admitting that, the boy had to be good at something after all. The meal had left her drowsy and she had gone to sleep without knowing where Draco was in the library. It had pleased her to know that he wasn't watching her this time around. That was why she was particularly mad when she awoke and found him sitting in his chair staring intently at her. She groaned and threw the blanket over her head so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"It's too late to be ashamed now, Granger," came Draco's tormenting drawl from his chair. "I've already seen too much for my own good."

Angrily she pulled off the blanket and shot him a heated glance.

"Aren't you tired of watching me?" she shot at him. He smirked.

"That's beside the point," was his vague answer.

"And what is the point exactly?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Oh, and while we're on the subject, how far are you from solving your little riddle?" Of course he was referring to the riddle of them locked in the library, but Hermione mentally frowned at his choice of words.

"How far?" she mused. "Shouldn't you say how close?"

Draco laughed mockingly, and Hermione gritted her teeth in anger.

"No, I shouldn't" Draco laughed "because I know you're very far from the right answer. Believe me, the truth will shock you."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and refused to answer. They sat together in silence before Draco suddenly spoke.

"I see you enjoyed your dinner last night." He was clearly very pleased with himself.

"I ate it, Malfoy," Hermione corrected him. "Nobody said anything about enjoying."

"Same thing."

She replied with a snort, but decided not to lower herself to his level. She raised her hand to run it through her hair, but before she got that far, she saw the mark Draco had made on her wrist. Instantly she felt anger flare in her stomach, and she vigorously started rubbing the mark to make it go away, forgetting that she had already tried that to no avail.

"Granger," Draco said, and Hermione was surprised to hear a small plea in his voice. She turned her head slightly to look at him from the corner of her eye.

"What?"

"It won't go away."

"Well, you should know."

He sighed defencelessly.

"You'll thank me for that someday."

"Don't count on it. I already regret the last time I thanked you for something."

"You'll see."

Hermione didn't answer. She felt it unnecessary to begin bickering with him again.

"I hate this," she muttered to herself after a minute or two.

"Did you say something?" Draco asked as if he had suddenly been ripped from a daydream.

"I didn't say anything to you," Hermione retorted, still feeling incredibly feisty and childish. Why was it, that Draco Malfoy had the power to bring out the worst in her? How did he do it? She was supposed to be a rational and logical person, but when he was involved all of that went to the bunkers. It only made her hate him that much more.

"Granger, you might as well just talk to me. There's no one else here. Haven't you read Robinson Crusoe?"

Stunned for the briefest moment Hermione couldn't gather her thoughts.

"Please Granger, don't look so disbelieving," Draco said his usual contempt back in his voice. "I've read all the classics as I'm sure you have."

"But…" She struggled to find the right words and, even worse, to say them. "But it's a Muggle book!"

"So?" Draco cocked an eyebrow at her in challenge. "Just because Daniel Defoe was of inferior birth doesn't mean he isn't a great writer."

Hermione was way too stunned to utter a single word. Draco sensed her unease and continued with what he had meant to say.

"As I was saying, you need someone to speak to when you're trapped. Luckily you have me and not Friday. You don't have to teach me anything to talk to me."

"I don't consider myself lucky," Hermione muttered under her breath. "But I might consider teaching you a thing or two about humility and manners."

"Oh, don't be in such a foul mood, Granger. We're two people here and not just you. You know, perhaps you should take a look at yourself before you throw stones. I mean in your book I'm below you, right? So perhaps you don't really have a problem with me. Perhaps you have a problem with the fact that I, unlike you, am strong enough and self-confident enough to admit when I feel better than someone else. You just wish you had the same strength."

Hermione started feeling herself getting red and she knew her anger would be hard to contain for much longer.

"You're jealous of me, aren't you?"

And that was her undoing. She jumped from her chair and raised her wand to Draco's face.

"You're getting on my last nerve, Malfoy!" she yelled. He smiled demonically at her. It stirred her anger and made it blind rage. "Don't think I won't hurt you Malfoy! I am more than capable of hurting you in my current state."

Draco thought about her statement for a second, and decided that there was only one way to throw her off her game.

"I'm not afraid of being hurt," he admitted and let a tiny sliver of sincerity colour his voice. "I've been hurt a lot in my past, you know. So you can do your worst. I know it won't be worse than I've already experienced."

And sure enough, his words caught her off guard and she unconsciously lowered her wand slightly. Draco then went for the kill. He raised his left arm and pulled up his sleeve. Hermione's eyes followed his action and she was stunned to see the faint tattoo marring his arm. The colouring had faded slightly after Voldemort's death, but the Dark Mark was still visible on his pale, fair skin. It was positively sickening. Hermione's arm fell to her side, and her stance relaxed.

"Getting this was pain beyond anything else," Draco's voice was now just a faint whisper, which only added to the slightly frightening feeling surrounding both of them. "Imagine a white hot blade being jammed into your skin, into your heart and into your soul. Imagine how it scars you both on the outside and the inside. Then you'll only be able to imagine a fraction of the pain this has caused me!"

Hermione felt her body start to shake involuntarily. Her eyes slowly drifted to watch Draco's face. He had been watching her as he spoke, she realised. He had seen how quickly her anger had turned to pity and fright. Was that what he had hoped to accomplish? Or had he just intended to make her give up? Was he truly not afraid of her? She voiced none of these theories.

"I hate this," she only repeated in a low whisper.

"Hate what?"Draco asked, also whispering, while he rose slowly. Their eyes stayed locked on each other's. "You hate being trapped? You hate being alone with me? Or you hate feeling sorry for me?"

"All of it," she admitted and added, "but most of all I hate not being able to take a shower and change."

Draco frowned at the weird confession. He watched her intently before throwing his head backwards and laughing heartedly.

"Granger, you'll be the death of me," he laughed with a little tear gracing the corner of his one eye. "Have you always been this funny?"

Hermione didn't answer, only crossed her arms and sent him a stern look that silenced him.

"Perhaps not," he mumbled and looked away to conceal his smile. "There is a way to fix your problem though."

For a brief second Hermione almost wanted to kiss him. Almost. Then she returned to reality and sanity. Reality was with Draco nothing was for free.

"How?" she asked suspiciously. She waited in horror to hear his price.

"Well, for one you're a witch Hermione," he said. "You can make your own bathtub. If you don't know how, I'll do it for you."

"I know how!" she snapped fiercely at him, angry that she hadn't thought of that by herself. It was simple really. Transfiguring a table into a tub, adding water and then making it hot with a simple boiling-spell. Simple. "And the change of clothes?"

Draco smiled mischievously at her, and she instantly knew she wasn't going to like this.

"You don't expect me to walk around nude, do you?" she said in horror.

"Of course not," he replied too quickly. For a moment it had almost looked like he had actually enjoyed the thought of her nude. But that was impossible. "I've brought our suitcases."

Sure enough, she didn't like that at all.

"You did what?!"

"I brought our suitcases. I snatched it from Filch when he was loading the train."

"I don't believe it!"

"Well, then I'll just keep your suitcase to myself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find something new to wear."

He started turning away, but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Where is it?" she said through gritted teeth.

"I'll tell you what, you go take a bath and I'll have the suitcase here for you when you get back."

"I don't like that idea."

Draco sighed.

"Of course you don't. You don't like anything coming from my mouth."

"Too true."

"Then wait here and I'll get the suitcases."

He turned to leave again, but Hermione hadn't let go of his arm.

"Why can't I come with you?"

Draco looked at her for a second, trying to measure her with his look.

"Why can't I see where the suitcases are?" she prompted.

Draco jaw suddenly tensed.

"You just can't," he said and the coldness in his voice made Hermione shiver. "Don't make me do something I'd rather no, Granger. Like knock you unconscious. Believe me, I'd really rather not do that, but if you keep on pushing me you'll leave me with no other choice."

Seeing the threat in his eyes instantly made Hermione release his arm and take a step back. He sent her a weak, apologizing smile before he finally left her. Hermione's heart was racing, beating violently against her ribcage. She fought hard to keep it under control. Once again he had scared her beyond belief. She didn't doubt for a minute that he was capable of hurting her. Even though he did seem reluctant to do it. She pondered at this for a minute, but couldn't come up with a satisfying explanation. What, he wanted her to surrender? He didn't like inflicting physical pain (that would be strange since he didn't hesitate a minute with inflicting emotional pain)? He felt himself too high and mighty to stoop to that level? Perhaps he rejoiced in the fact that she was so much in his might that he only had to threaten her to get her to do something. Clearly it wasn't because felt something for her (pity, sorry – anything) for her. If that was the case then there would be no problem at all. Because then they wouldn't even be in this situation to begin with.

Thinking rationally made Hermione's heart slow down and it resumed its normal rhythm. She turned to face the table and looked wonderingly at it. She lovingly gathered the book lying on the surface and placed them in her chair. Then she started transfiguring the table into a large tub, big enough to contain her. When that was done she started filling it with water. The process was slow, but steady. When she got around to warming the water, Draco returned.

"What took you so long?" she said trying to sound indifferent.

"What's it to you?" Draco snapped, clearly in a very foul mood. "You don't care the least bit about my whereabouts."

"No I don't," she answered and kept her back to him, when he dumped her suitcase next to her. "I just thought I'd try to be civil."

Draco laughed sarcastically.

"No you didn't," he said. "You are curious because you think this'll help you figure out why we're here and how you can get out."

Hermione didn't have a satisfying comeback, so she kept her mouth shut. She opened her suitcase and pulled out her large, blue towel. Then she turned her head to face Draco and gave him a nasty look. He was watching her again.

"Do you think I'm going to let you watch me bathe?" she said with poison.

"I wouldn't watch even if you let me." Hermione couldn't decipher his tone. Did he mean that he wasn't interested in her body? Or was he being a gentleman?

"How am I going to understand that?"

Draco sighed heavily and made to leave.

"Understand it whatever way you wish," he muttered vehemently. "You'll probably choose the wrong one anyway." Then he was gone.

Hermione blinked in confusion, but quickly decided that he was not worth the trouble or the headache. She undressed slowly, neatly folding every scrap of clothing and putting it into the suitcase. Then she let herself slip into the large tub. She sighed contently as the warm water enclosed her tired body. She closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift far away. Yes, there was nothing better than a bath to make you relax and forget. And how she wanted to forget!

_**I want to thank all of my reviewers! You are truly saving my fingers, and this chapter is dedicated to you all. I wish I could mention all of you by name, but that would be a very long list. I hope you all know how much your wonderful reviews mean to me. They truly make my writing a lot easier. I might reconsider naming a character after one of you. Yeah, I might do that. If I get a really good review, I could do that. So bring on the reviews, people!**_


	6. Second Afternoon Alone

**Second Afternoon Alone**

After the bath Hermione almost felt like a new person. Her head was clearer and her thoughts were more gathered and together than earlier. When she emerged from the tub, she wrapped the towel around herself and found a new set of clothes from her suitcase. She was happy to be out of the old, smelly uniform she had been wearing. She found her favourite pair of jeans (they were clearly her favourite – torn and worn) and a red shirt. She smiled wickedly when she pulled the shirt on. Gryffindor's colour. It was a subtle rebellion but a rebellion none the less. It made her feel slightly better.

As she got dressed she started wondering about Draco's secrecy with the suitcases. Where had he hidden them? Why couldn't she see the place? Was there something else in that secret hiding place that she wasn't supposed to know about? The possibilities were many, but she always came back to the one thing that was almost definite: there was something she wasn't supposed to know. But for the life of her she couldn't figure out what it was!

Sitting back down in her chair she cast a quick drying spell on her hair.

"Are you decent, Granger?" Draco's voice then sounded from the other end of the library.

"Yes," she growled and slid down into the chair cushions. Draco then appeared at their little spot. He sent her glance, and she was pleased to see the look of disgust cross his face when he noticed her choice in shirt. She smirked at him, feeling a little daring. "What's the matter, Malfoy?"

He blinked in surprise at her angry hiss, but soon his face went blank. All emotions left his features and he was yet again a true Malfoy; mysterious and absolutely dangerous.

"Nothing," he answered and sat down in his chair. Hermione couldn't help letting her eyes run over him. He wasn't wearing his school uniform either; instead he was dressed in dark blue denim pants and a black shirt with a dark green collar. As much as she hated to admit it, the school uniform really didn't do his body any justice. His chest was perfectly toned and the shirt was hugging his frame tightly, perfectly in all the right places. Had that body belonged to anyone else than Draco Malfoy Hermione might not have been able to resist that person. But as it was the chest, abs and muscles belonged to Draco, and because of that Hermione felt no need whatsoever to get near them. No need whatsoever…

"Now who's staring, Granger?" Malfoy's self-satisfied voice pushed her out of her day dream.

"I wasn't staring," she snapped back, quickly regaining her wit. "I don't stare, only you do that."

"If that wasn't staring I don't know what is."

Hermione huffed.

"That's easy: staring is when you look at someone all the time even when they ask you not to!"

He didn't answer. The smirk, that blasted, annoying, crooked smirk, was taunting her and angering her.

"YOU stare, Malfoy. I look once in a while."

"Fine," Draco surrendered, but it was clear to Hermione that he only said the word to get her to shut up. He didn't agree with her at all. Self-centred prick. "So what now?"

"What do you mean what now?"

"What do you want to do?"

"What do I want to do?" Hermione repeated with a small, annoyed laugh. "Well, let's see for one I'd like to get out of here, but that won't happen. I'd also like for you to leave me alone, but you seem reluctant to do so. So I'm all out of wishes."

When she looked at Draco, she suddenly realised how tiresome he looked. And not the normal kind of tired – the one where you've been up all night and only had three hours of sleep before school. It was the other tired. The one that screams, "I'M TIRED OF THIS, CAN'T IT JUST END!" But she couldn't figure out why he looked that way. And as the nosy, curious (helpful, kind, sympathetic) girl Hermione was, she couldn't help but ask him.

"Draco, what's troubling you?" she hadn't meant to say his name. It just sort of slipped out. It seemed right to use his first name in this situation.

Draco didn't answer. He plastered an arm over his eyes and leaned his head back until it rested heavily on the back of the chair. Hermione couldn't keep back a surge of pity. For the first time she could remember she saw true vulnerability in Draco.

"Draco, tell me," she managed to make her voice both pleading and demanding.

"I can't," came Draco's weary voice. "I simply can't."

"Okay," Hermione said, careful not to push the wrong buttons. Right now he seemed vulnerable, but she had learned firsthand that nothing was what it seemed with Draco Malfoy. Sure, now he seemed pathetic and weak, but if she pushed him just right (or wrong?) he might explode. And take it out on her. Better safe than sorry. "Then just talk to me?"

Draco laughed a laugh what was probably meant to be a mocking, sharp laugh, but it ended in a long, tired sigh. Hermione was astounded at this new vulnerability he suddenly showed. Not two minutes earlier he had been his own wicked, tormenting self. Now he was unlike anything else she had ever seen him as before. And somehow it didn't make her feel as good as she thought it would. It was obvious that something was weighing heavily on him, something that he couldn't share with her. Perhaps it had something to do with them being trapped here. Perhaps there was actually some humanity somewhere in that dark boy (man, she realised) sitting across from her.

"Talk to me," she repeated and reached out to remove his arm from his face. He didn't struggle, he didn't yank his arm from her grip. He just sat there passively and let her do what she wished to do. Somehow this troubled her more than anything else he could have done. Had he yelled at her, fought back or cursed her she would have expected it, she would have thought that typical of him. But not this. If there was one thing Draco Malfoy wasn't then it was passive, she thought. Apparently she was wrong about that. She sighed and looked deep into his fatigued, grey eyes. What else couldn't she be wrong about when it came to him?

"You're an only child, right?" his voice was as tired as his face and eyes. She nodded. "Do your parents demand a lot of things of you then?"

She frowned.

"I'm not sure I follow…?" she let her words trail out. Draco sighed and gently removed her hands from his arm. She hadn't realised that she was still holding on to him.

"Of course you don't," he said with a little smile that was probably meant to cheer her up. Well, he failed miserably with that. His sadness leaked from that smile and sore right into her heart, hitting her fragile heartstrings. That had always been her greatest fault, she had been told over and over again. She always felt sorry for others, no matter what they had done to her in the past. She had been called naïve way too many times for her own liking.

"Then explain it to me," she demanded and sat straight in her chair. Draco laughed, and this time the sound was genuine. It made Hermione feel better instantly.

"You're just like yourself," Draco mused, letting his eyes roam over her face. "Always the school girl, eager to learn."

Hermione felt herself getting defiant at those words, and made to get up. Quickly Draco's hand shot out and took a hold of her shoulder. He pushed her back into the chair.

"Don't get mad," he said. "It wasn't meant as an insult."

"What else was I supposed to think it was meant as?" she asked, still feeling defiant. "I'm only used to insult coming from you."

"I know," Draco sighed and stroked his cheek with two fingers. "But please try not to jump to hasty conclusions."

Hermione didn't say anything to that. She wasn't sure if she should consider this just another shot at her or if he really meant what he was saying. Draco didn't wait for an answer before he continued.

"It's pretty normal for parents to expect a lot more from their firstborn child than from their second or third," Draco started, sounding almost like he was giving a lecture. "I have a theory that if a couple only gets one child all the expectations they should have had for future children are transferred to that one child. Hence they face a lot more pressure than children with siblings."

He paused and was clearly waiting for Hermione to say something, only she didn't know what kind of response he was looking for. Did he expect her to confirm his theory? If that was the case she couldn't do it.

"My parents haven't been pressuring me in any way," she ended up whispering, watching as Draco's face fell back into sadness.

"I figured that," he said with an apologizing quirk of his lips.

"Are your parents pressuring you?" the question was faint and hesitant. She wasn't expecting an answer.

"Not pressuring per say," Draco said as hesitantly as she had worded the question. "They just have… ambitions for me."

"Do you share their ambitions?" this time the question was less hesitant.

"Some of them. Of course I want to do well in this world. But I don't necessarily agree with their methods."

Hermione frowned but didn't comment on that. She knew all too well about the well about his family's methods. They had used them on her; she still had a faint scar on her left shoulder.

"Who do you turn to when you need help?" Draco suddenly asked, completely out of the blue.

"What?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"When you need advice, who do ask? I mean if you don't ask your parents?"

Hermione started wondering where all of this had suddenly come from. She was actually having a civil, meaningful conversation with Draco Malfoy, her tormenter, enemy, rival and captor. Was she suffering from Stockholm syndrome or something like that? She shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and turned her thoughts to his question.

"I do usually ask my parents," she admitted "but you know it really depends on the problem. Parents can't help with everything. I also ask Harry sometimes. You may not think him anything special, but he is a true friend. I can always count on him. But if neither he nor my parents can help I ask my aunt Ariel. She always had the right answer."

"You're lucky to have her," Draco said and Hermione thought she detected envy in his words.

"I am," she cautiously agreed with him. "She's great. But why did you ask about this?"

For a long second Draco stared at her, measuring him with his stare. Then he closed his eyes, sighed and got up. He stood tall above her looking down at her face.

"No reason," he said – a lie, Hermione sensed it the moment he opened his mouth. "Just curious."

With one last look at her, he left.

'_Why does he always do that?!' _Hermione wondered, looking after him as he walked away from her. _'Whenever we talk about anything at all he ends up leaving me alone. Almost as if he's afraid of saying something wrong or something he shouldn't.'_

The thought stirred something within Hermione. Was he really afraid that he might say something he was going to regret? And what was all that family-pressure-thing about? Clearly he didn't ask out of simple curiosity. But what then? Lost in thought Hermione sank back into the chair with her head in her hands.

_**This chapter is dedicated to a very special reviewer, one who's been with me from the beginning and one who wanted to be in the story. This is for you Ariel. Hope you enjoyed it.**_

_**And again I want to thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They really keep me going. If I need inspiration I just think of you all and then a wonderful little light goes on in my head (PLING) and then I need a computer fast!**_


	7. Third Night Alone

**Third Night Alone**

Hermione was standing in the kitchen cooking dinner. She hadn't planned on it, but after she had her first, deep conversation with Draco she truly felt sorry for him. So she decided to repay him the favour, since he cooked the night before. Only problem was that Hermione was definitely not a cook. Nowhere near in fact. But she did make a pretty good tomato soup. So of course that was what she was making when Draco entered the kitchen.

"Merlin Granger," he said in surprise "I didn't know you could cook."

She twisted her upper body to look at him and sent him a nervous grin.

"I don't really," she said and blushed. "Not as good as you. I just thought I'd do something nice for you."

Draco didn't answer her. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned casually against the doorframe while he watched her intently. She felt her blush get deeper and turned from him to focus on her cooking. It was time for her to add the pasta and then it just needed to boil.

"I don't get you Granger," Draco suddenly said and made Hermione jump around and frown at him.

"What do you mean Malfoy?" she asked with her guards raised.

"You are aware that I'm holding you here against you will, right?"

Instantly she felt the calm leave her body and fury began rising in her chest. And to think that she had felt sorry for him just a few seconds earlier.

"Yes, I know that," she hissed, trying to remain calm despite his smug expression. "Thanks for reminding me, though."

"No problem," Draco said a little hesitantly. "Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?"

"I don't know any longer."

Draco uncrossed his arms and looked a little uncomfortable as he glanced around the room, doing his best to avoid her eyes, apparently.

"Spill it Malfoy," Hermione hissed, still angry.

"Nothing," he said way too fast. Hermione stared at him, but he didn't look back. Instead he walked in and sat down at the table.

"There's something," she prompted and sat down across from him. "Give it up."

Draco opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. And then he repeated the procedure. Finally he said, "I was just wondering if you were suffering from Stockholm syndrome?"

Hermione pouted.

"I've wondered that myself," she mumbled and decided to ignore him.

They sat in silence until the timer went off and dinner was ready. When she rose to take it off the stove, she felt his eyes pierce into her back. She still ignored him while she poured the soup into two bowls and placed them on the table in front of Draco and herself.

"Enjoy," she said without any joy at all.

Draco eyed his food suspiciously. Then he slowly brought a spoonful to his mouth. The spoon paused in front of his mouth and he sent her a look over the spoon.

"I'll have you know that I'm only eating this because I know you haven't cursed it." Then he swooped the food into his mouth. To his surprise it was actually quite tasty. He was just about to comment on her cooking when Hermione rose angrily and almost knocked over her chair.

"See, this is why I don't like you!" she shouted at him.

He blinked at her in confusion and surprise.

"Wha…?" but he didn't get any further.

"First you tell me, that you don't trust me at all," she kept on shouting. "And then you remind me of the horrible things you've done to me in these last three days!"

Then Draco couldn't keep it down anymore. He rose as well, and he actually did knock over his chair, which hit the floor with a loud crash.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew just why you're here!" he bellowed at her and instantly regretted his words as he watched her expression turn from anger to smug.

"Then tell me why I'm here," she demanded with a sly smile.

"You have to figure it out for yourself," he snapped at her, raised his chair and sat back down to eat. Hermione stood still and watched him as he started eating again. After a minute or two she sighed and sat back down again.

"Then at least give me something to work with," she said with a tired tone as she started poking around her own food.

"I've already given you enough," he said, sounding just as tired as her.

"Apparently not," she said and poked at a pasta. "I'm clueless."

At that statement Draco laughed.

"No you're not Granger," he laughed. "I know you, you're anything but clueless. You probably have 20 different theories and just can't decide which one sounds most plausible."

Hermione huffed, but knew he was right. But he didn't have to know that she knew that he was right. That would seriously worsen his ego.

"Tell me a theory."

She had been lost in thought and was surprised by his voice.

"Why should I?" she asked, still guarded.

"How else will you find out if you've been right?"

It made sense.

"I don't have anything polished yet," she avoided his demand and started eating slowly.

"Oh, come on Granger just tell me one." Draco's voice was surprisingly pleading, but Hermione wouldn't have it. She wasn't yet sure what she really thought and didn't want to tell him anything.

"Not yet," she avoided him. "Just wait a day or two."

"Fine," Draco's voice was close to a sneer, but he managed to keep it somewhat pleasant. Hermione wondered why it was so important for him to know. And for her to figure it out on her own… there was something completely wrong, she figured.

"This is actually quite good, Granger," Draco hesitantly said. "You may not be a cook, but you do this well."

Hermione blushed at his sudden turn of mood and compliment. Why she was blushing she had no idea. It was just Draco, for crying out loud!

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"It was a compliment, Granger not a pickup line."

"Great, just make me mad again!"

She pushed away her bowl and pouted angrily.

"You sure have a temper, don't you?"

"That's only because you push my buttons."

They stared at each other, neither of them wanting to be the one to break contact. Finally Draco opened his mouth and spoke the one word Hermione had never imagined coming from his lips. Especially not to her.

"Sorry," he said, stilling looking her in the eyes not even blinking as he spoke the word.

"Okay," was all Hermione could think of saying. As soon as she had said it she felt like kicking herself. Wasn't she supposed to be smart and all that? And then all she could think of saying was 'okay'? Some brain she had.

"Thanks for dinner, Granger," he said and smiled a genuine smile. She actually caught herself thinking that he was cute when he smiled. Then she mentally slapped herself, but the image of him smiling she couldn't shake off. Great.

"You're welcome," she said. "But perhaps you should be in charge of dinner from now on. You are, after all, the one keeping me here and not the other way around."

Draco smiled a lopsided smile that almost made her stomach twirl. But she kept it in check. Perhaps she really did have Stockholm syndrome.

"Okay, I'll take care of dinner from now on," Draco said, which shocked Hermione totally. She hadn't expected for him to give in. Especially not that easily.

"Okay," was all her brilliant mind offered her yet again.

"Typical Granger," Draco laughed. "Always so eloquent."

"Hey!" she said with hurt feelings, but when she saw Draco's wide grin she couldn't help but laugh. And then he started laughing as well. Before Hermione knew it they were laughing hysterically together. She felt all her stress, anger and irritation vanish into thin, laugh-filled air. When the laughing subsided they were both red-faced, breathing heavily and she was clutching her stomach. Without earning Draco reached over the table, took hold of the hand she had lying there and squeezed it gently. And oddly enough Hermione didn't feel like jerking her hand away from his grasp. She let him do it and even smiled at him. He released her hand stood up and motioned with his head for her to follow him. And funnily enough she did it. She felt like she'd lost control of her body as she walked besides him in silence towards their place. They both instantly sat down in their chairs when they arrived. Then the silence claimed them.

"Tell me something Granger," he suddenly said.

"What, Malfoy?"

"Why don't we use each other's first names?"

She blinked twice. Then three times. And then three times more.

"I…" she stuttered. "I don't know. Because we don't like each other."

"Oh, right," Draco said and actually smiled a little knowing smile at her. What was wrong with that boy? Did he see right through her or something? Had he noticed how she had been noticing him all night? No, that wasn't possible… was it?

"What's your proposition then?" she prompted him, and was pleased to see that she caught him off guard. "Switch to first names?"

Draco winced, but something in his eyes made Hermione think that that face didn't really go with his feelings.

"Nah, we're not really there yet," he said, grinning again. "How about if we start with middle names then?"

"So you'll call me Jean?" she said doubtfully. "That doesn't sound that good you know. And what is your middle name?"

"I don't have any." His grin widened.

"So I'd have to call you Nothing? Or Blank perhaps?"

"Or perhaps Handsome."

"Okay, this was a bad idea," Hermione laughed, even though she knew she shouldn't laugh. He'd just get himself worked up. Like a child stuffed with sugar on Christmas Eve. Horrible. "How about if we just stick with the last names?"

Draco shrugged.

"I just thought we needed some sort of change," he explained. "I feel like we're stuck."

"Malfoy, we've been stuck for the last seven years and now you want to change that?"

"Yeah, perhaps not." He stilled smiled, but the smile didn't seem real to Hermione. He was definitely keeping something from her. None the less, she decided to let it slide. For now, anyway.

"So we're still Granger and Malfoy?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Draco nodded in reply. "Just checking."

"Well, now that that's out of the way there was something else I wanted to ask you." Draco held his breath shortly before continuing. The suspense didn't bode well with Hermione. She impatiently tapped her fingers on the surface of the table. "What's up with you and Weasel?"

He asked the one thing she didn't think he would care about. But then again he had done so many unexpected things while they had been locked in together, it didn't surprise her all that much.

"What do you mean 'going on'?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Granger," he smirked. "I know you're anything but that."

"Fine," she grumbled a little, feeling stupid. "There's nothing going on with us."

He reply came almost as soon as the words rolled off her tongue, "I don't believe you."

"Then don't." She really didn't want to talk about this, but still felt, that if he kept pushing she would tell. Darn.

"Come on, you know you want to tell me."

And when he said that she realised that he was right. For some totally weird and out there reason she actually wanted to tell him. So she did.

"I wasn't lying, Malfoy," she started after taking a deep breath. "There is nothing going on between Ronald and I. Not anymore that is."

He frowned. "Explain."

"There was something. We were kind of together. We kissed. But there wasn't really anything more than just comfort and safety. It was strange being with him. There wasn't a flame. And I decided that I needed that flame. So we broke up."

Draco sat watching her before he answered, "Good for you. You deserve better than that Weaselbee. You deserve a flame."

"Er…" Hermione started, totally lost in confusion, but she didn't get a chance to finish.

"Goodnight Granger," Draco said, curled up in his chair with his blanket wrapped around him and his face hidden. It was a clear sign that the conversation was over.

'_Well'_ Hermione thought _'at least he didn't walk away this time. Might as well have though.'_

Then she drew up her legs underneath her and followed his suit. Within seconds she was sleeping.

_**This chapter nearly killed me. I hate it. Please review and put me out of my misery. **_


	8. Third Morning Alone

**Third Morning Alone**

She woke up to see Draco disappearing behind a bookshelf. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she had shed herself of the blanket and gotten out of the chair to follow him. He was walking with his usual pride, his head held high and his back lean and straight. She was careful not to make any noise. For some reason she didn't want him to hear her. She knew something was different with him, and her suspicion was confirmed when he didn't turn to enter the kitchen, as she originally had thought was his plan. He continued down between the many shelves of old, dusty books until he came to a halt in front of the back wall in the other end of the library. When he stopped he shot a nervous glance over his shoulder, but Hermione had sensed it coming and had jumped behind the closest shelf. He didn't see her. He turned around again to face the end wall and Hermione peeked from behind her shelf to see what he was doing. He had drawn his wand and tapped it silently against the wall in a square and then suddenly a hatch appeared where he had made the invisible square with his wand. Hermione held back a small gasp. So this must be where he had hidden their suitcases! Draco opened the hatch, but Hermione couldn't see what was behind it. Then suddenly Draco spoke.

"Lucius Malfoy," he said and Hermione froze. What was he up to?

"Draco," a low, cold whisper sounded from the little room. Hermione didn't need to be told who that voice belonged to. She knew it. It was Draco's father. It was Lucius Malfoy. "My son."

"Father," was Draco's only response, but it sounded strange to Hermione. He didn't say the word with love or even warmth. There was no affection whatsoever in his voice.

"Is the deed done?" Lucius asked and Hermione felt her breathing quicken. She began silently gasping for air.

"Not yet," Draco asked, and suddenly there was a guilt in his voice that Hermione couldn't understand.

"Then get it done," Lucius sneered. "It's crucial that you do this for your family, Draco. Hermione Granger must…"

"I know father!" Draco interrupted him loudly. "I know just give me some time!"

"Time isn't on our side, son. We have a deadline."

"And I'm going to meet it father. Don't worry."

"But I will worry, Draco. Just get it done fast."

Draco didn't answer, but nodded and closed the hatch, tapped the corners with his wand and the hatch disappeared. Then he turned around to leave, and Hermione quickly hid behind the shelf again. She sank down into a sitting position with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head resting heavily on her knees. She heard Draco walk by, but he didn't seem to notice her. She remained like that for a few minutes before she had gathered the strength to get up. She wasn't completely sure what to do with this new information. Draco had cut off his father before he had the chance to say what exactly was to happen with her, so she hadn't really learned anything new in that direction. The only thing she could think of doing was getting into that little room and see for herself what was in there. Perhaps there was something she could use. She just hoped that whatever was in there it wouldn't allow Lucius Malfoy to see her.

When she stood in front of the wall, she drew out her wand and tried to remember exactly what she had seen Draco do. There had to be some markers that marked the corners she was to touch with the wand. She searched the wall intently, but couldn't see anything. But when she quirked her head, something suddenly became evident to her; the wall had a tapestry of an old Wizarding battle – it was the battle between wizards and leprechauns that had taken place many hundred years ago – and when she scrutinized the Wizarding side, she realised that four wizards were standing close together with their wands raised. The tips of their wands formed a square exactly the size of the hatch. She tryingly tapped her wand against the tips of the wizards' wands, but nothing happened. No hatch came into view. She lowered her wand and grumbled at what she could have missed. He hadn't used any obvious magic, but perhaps he had used wordless magic. But then how would she ever figure out what kind of magic he had used? Perhaps the hatch worked along the same lines of the Room of Requirement? Could it possibly be that the room was essentially the same as the Room of Requirement? It would make sense, she decided.

She raised her wand again, but this time when she tapped the wands she thought, _'I want to see what Malfoy is hiding'_ for each wand her own wand touched. When she then lowered her wand, the hatch sudden appeared. Hermione couldn't help but smile widely, when she reached out and opened the hatch. But the smile faltered when she saw what was in the small, rectangular room; a mirror. A lousy old mirror. It didn't make sense. How on earth had Draco managed to talk to his father through a mirror? And then she remembered. Harry had a magic mirror like it. It had been given to him by his Godfather Sirius. Sirius had told him that all Harry needed to do to get in contact with him was to speak his name to the mirror. Sirius had a mirror like it, he had said. But Harry's mirror had broken and Sirius died before they could try it out. Perhaps this mirror was the same kind of mirror. That would definitely explain everything. When Hermione thought more about Harry's mirror something suddenly hit her. Harry had never talked to Sirius through the mirror. But he had seen someone else. And that someone else wasn't that far away from her! Aberforth Dumbledore still worked at Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. If she could get in contact with him, he could surely help her. She opened her mouth to speak his name when the hatch was suddenly snapped shut. She gasped loudly and spun around to look right into Draco's angry, stormy grey eyes.

"What are you doing Granger?" he hissed at her, grabbed her arm forcefully and pulled her away from the hatch which he closed with his wand. Then he turned around and started dragging Hermione away by the arm. She struggled slightly but knew there was nothing to be done. He was too strong for her. He dragged her to the kitchen and placed her in a chair with himself hovering above her. "Explain Granger!"

She didn't. She just stared back at him with unyielding eyes.

"Okay, then I'll tell you what I think you did," Draco said when he became too impatient to wait for her reply. "I think you followed me and saw me talking to my father. And then when I left you decided to be your nosy self and found my mirror. Am I right this far?"

Hermione didn't bulge but put on her best poker face. No way was he going to get anything out of her, she thought.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. And I think that you were just about to contact someone, right? Who was it?"

"I'm not going to say anything about it so just drop it," Hermione said neutrally. "It isn't going to make a difference anyway. You caught me and now I can't do that again."

"You're right about that," Draco sighed and his anger crumbled. "You really shouldn't struggle this much, Granger, you're only making it worse. If you just relaxed perhaps you could even enjoy this. Just a little."

Hermione, who had been shaking his head as he spoke, suddenly slammed a fist to the table and rose angrily to stand face to face with Draco.

"You keep on saying that Malfoy!" she yelled. He didn't seem scared and didn't yield the tiniest bit. "You keep telling be that I'm struggling too much, but put yourself in my position for a second or two, if you're even capable of that!"

She took a deep breath to calm herself before she continued, "Malfoy you have me locked in a library. We don't like each other. You won't tell what we're doing here. And now I find out that you father wants you to do something to me. Imagine if the tables were turned and you were me. Wouldn't you struggle as well?"

Draco also seemed to calm down, and he sighed.

"I would," he admitted and Hermione saw a slight hint of sadness in his face. "But if you just knew…"

"But I don't know, Malfoy!" she whispered urgently. "You won't tell me or give me any clues."

"I have a reason for that," Draco whispered back, and suddenly the air was filled with the strangest tension. Hermione snapped for breath and watched how Draco's eyes dropped to watch her lips.

"Once you figure this out you'll understand," he whispered, his eyes flickering from her mouth to her eyes and back again. "Until then you just have to trust me."

"Give me a clue, please." She didn't care that she was pleading. She wanted desperately to believe him, she did, but her better judgement prevented that. She couldn't do that when they had been enemies for so long, he had made her life miserable and now all of this, all the secrets. It was too much. She needed something else.

Draco stared at her dark brown eyes and sighed in defeat.

"I'll give you one clue, Granger," he whispered and took her hand. His fingers were cold as they graced her palm. Slowly he raised her hand, still staring her straight in the eyes. Hermione couldn't look away. He held her gaze and she had no wish to break the connection between them. Before she knew it Draco's lips touched her hand. Her heart started thudding loudly at the single, sweet gesture. Draco pressed his lips to her hand for a few seconds longer than he should have if the gesture was simple courtesy. When he released her hand, he winked at her and gave her his trademark smirk. "Good enough clue, Granger?" he asked her teasingly and sat down.

Hermione remained standing at stared at him with open mouth in awe.

"No," she said and tried to sound angry, but the sound was more misbelieving that anything else. "That wasn't a clue at all."

Draco laughed and shook his head at her.

"It's probably one of the best clues I've given you so far," he smirked. "You're a smart girl Granger, you'll figure it out."

She smiled incredulously at him as she sat down. What in Merlin's beard had just happened?

"Oh, and by the way Granger," Draco added as she sat down, "you really should remember that spell you have around your wrist."

Hermione blinked in confusion.

"You used you wand, Granger," Draco explained still smirking. "The spell picks up on any use of your wand. Just thought you should know."

_**Another chapter up. I actually really like this one, so tell me what you think of it. Review!**_


	9. Third Afternoon Alone

**Third Afternoon Alone**

"Do you feel like lunch?" Draco said after a long silence between them which Hermione had spend reading her Muggle poetry book – Draco had examined the book before letting her read it, but funnily enough she had just laughed at that.

Hermione was just about turn him down when her stomach grumbled noisily. Draco had noticed how she had opened her mouth to say now and started laughing when the sound of her hungry stomach made its way to his ear.

"I think that means yes," he laughed and snatched the book away from her. He was just about to snap it shut when Hermione yelled for him to stop.

"NO!"

Draco stood completely still as a stone and looked at Hermione, who was standing just as still as he. Her stomach made a nervous flip when Draco smirked at her.

"Is there something in this book you want to read?" he asked deviously.

Slowly Hermione nodded. "It's one of my favourite poems…" she whispered and saw Draco's smirk grow. He opened the book and read the poem. His smirk faded and his eyes became clouded. When he looked up at her again his expression was one of deep surprise.

"Who figured," he said incredulously. "That's also one of my favourite poems." And then he started to read it aloud. It was _'She Walks In Beauty'_ by Lord Byron.

_She__ walks in beauty, like the night _

_Of cloudless climes and starry skies; _

_And all that's best of dark and bright _

_Meet in her aspect and her eyes: _

_Thus mellow'd to that tender light _

_Which heaven to gaudy day denies. _

_One shade the more, one ray the less, _

_Had half impair'd the nameless grace _

_Which waves in every raven tress, _

_Or softly lightens o'er her face; _

_Where thoughts serenely sweet express _

_How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. _

_And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, _

_So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, _

_The smiles that win, the tints that glow, _

_But tell of days in goodness spent, _

_A mind at peace with all below, _

_A heart whose love is innocent!_

Hermione was left absolutely breathless when he had read the last word. His deep voice had turned husky and sensual and his eyes had never strayed from hers. Somehow she felt like he had directed the poem at her. Like he was talking about her. But that was just silly, wasn't it? Draco would never be that sweet or romantic. And definitely not towards her! That was just plain absurd! Hermione shook her head to rid herself of the absurd thoughts sudden wants and longing she felt stir in her.

"Let's get lunch," she said, took the book from Draco and put it on the table. She didn't wait for him to follow her but just marched to the kitchen. When she entered, she sat down and folded her arms over her chest and glared at Draco when he entered right after her. She wasn't completely sure why she was irritated with him, but the point remained that she was. And he couldn't change that. No matter how charmingly he smiled at her he couldn't make her like him.

"What would you like?" he asked all gallantly and flashed her another brilliant smile that made Hermione's breath stick in her throat. What in Merlin's beard was wrong with this picture? Oh, right, she was finding herself falling for Draco Malfoy's phony charm. And why was he suddenly behaving like a servant? Like her servant… was it all just a trick? A part of his plan that he had made with his father? Hermione felt herself grow suspicious of his intentions.

"Just make whatever you'd like," she retorted still cross with him and playing it stubborn.

"Fine," he said still smiling. Apparently nothing could dampen his high spirit. Darn it!

A little angry Hermione watched as he gracefully started pulling ingredients from various cupboards and started throwing them in a pan. He made it look so easy. And he looked rather good too. Not what she was supposed to notice! Only a few seconds later he placed a plate of ham and eggs in front of her. It smelled delicious and she could only just barely keep in her saliva. She forked the egg and tryingly put some of it in her mouth. Merlin, it tasted just as it smelled! It should be illegal to be so mean but such a good cook. She scowled at him, but couldn't keep the façade when she saw his little boyish anticipation.

"It's really good," she heard herself say. And what was worse she felt how she became happy when she watched the smile widen on his face.

"I'm glad you like it," he said and started eating as well all the while watching her.

"Okay, why do you keep on doing that?" she finally snapped and put down her fork. "You're always looking at me."

Draco laughed till his whole body shook.

"You are supposed to figure that out for yourself," his voice was breathless from the laughing. "But you sure are fun when you're agitated." And then he started laughing again. Hermione decided not to do anything about it. He was surprisingly pleasant to be with when he was in this mood.

"So you're telling me," she started saying, "that the fact that you keep staring at me has something to do why we're here?"

Draco stopped laughing and his eyes narrowed. "I said that?"

"Indirectly."

"Then I'll stand by it."

They ate the rest of their lunch in silence. Hermione didn't comment on his eyes resting on her every move. Draco didn't comment on her sudden change of mood from sour to smiley. When they laid their forks down on their plates and leaned back in their chairs the silence grew slightly awkward. Especially when Draco was still staring at her. She felt a blush spread on her already rosy cheeks and she cleared her throat nervously.

"What do we do now?" she asked and avoided his gaze.

"Tell me a theory," Draco demanded. Hermione frowned in confusion.

"Which theory would you like? Einstein's relativity theory? Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis? Or perhaps Isaac Newton's gravity?"

"Not a theory like that," Draco laughed loudly while he smacked his thighs. "One of your theories!"

"One of mine…?" she trailed off. "I don't know…"

"Come on Hermione, just tell me."

"You called me Hermione." It was a statement. She wasn't mad as she thought she would be. On the contrary she was strangely pleased, although she didn't show it.

"So what?" Draco said just as indifferent as her. "Tell me."

"I have one…" she said hesitantly. "But it's not specific yet…"

"Just spill!"

"I think it is your job to keep me here till your father has Harry and then you're going to kill me."

Draco was silently watching her before he slowly rose. He turned his back on her and started walking out the door. Right before he could leave her, he stopped.

"You're right," he said neutrally. "That is my mission. But you're still not done."

Strangely enough she wasn't scared to find out that she was going to die. Just the knowledge made her less agitated and brought her back from the bank of panic. He started walking again but this time Hermione couldn't just let him leave her, he'd done that too many times. She got up and half-ran after him grabbing his arm and turning her around.

"Not this time you don't!" she said and held onto his arm. He stared wonderingly at her. "You always leave! And this time you've just told me that you're going to kill me, so you can't leave!"

Draco just stared at her incredulously. Then – with no warning at all – he cast his arms around her shoulders and drew her into a kind a loving hug, that finally had Hermione reduced to tears. She cried against his toned chest while he caringly stroked her hair and back. When the tears ceased and ended in small sobs he still held her and she felt do desire to pull back. Funny world, right? You're hugging the man who's going to kill you, and still you're pleased that he's the one to do it.

"I'm not going to do it…" Hermione heard Draco's whisper in her ear. She lifted her head to look at him. He had tears in his eyes as well. "I won't do it."

"Why not?" Hermione asked. "I don't blame you Draco, I don't. With your father I understand why you have to do it."

"You called me Draco." He smiled through his tears.

"So what?" Hermione mimicked him. "I just gave you permission to kill me and you think about what name I call you."

"I told you Hermione, I'm not going to kill you."

"But you have to…"

Draco started laughing and hugged her close again. She almost felt strangled but the feeling wasn't bad. It was comforting and safe. Strange…

"I don't care if I have to I'm not going to."

"But Draco…"

"End of discussion!" he said with finality. How twisted was that, Hermione suddenly realised. She had just told someone to kill her. Someone she didn't even like. Yeah, Stockholm syndrome for sure.

"Why not?" she finally chirped.

"That's the second part of the riddle for you to solve."

Hermione's brain worked on over drive for a second before coming up with a utterly absurd idea that sent her into a giggling fit.

"What?" Draco asked.

"It's not because you're gay and in love with Harry is it?" Hermione laughed and felt Draco stiffen. Then he suddenly relaxed and started laughing as well.

"No that's definitely not it!" he laughed and gave her a squeeze.

_**Sorry it has been such a long time, but I really hope you're pleased with this chapter. I know I am. So please review and tell me your thoughts and feelings. A writer is only as good as her reviews, you know…**_


	10. Fourth Night Alone

**Fourth Night Alone**

A deep silence enveloped them. Nothing else seemed to exist, but it didn't last long. Hermione suddenly remembered just who it was she was hugging and why it was utterly wrong, and she practically jumped out of Draco's arms. Her eyes flickered to his and she saw his confusion and hurt. She had hurt him.

"What…?" Hermione stammered, unable to find the right words. "What in Merlin's cheese filled beard just happened?"

Draco blinked in surprise and he opened his mouth to speak, but no words left his silent lips.

"That was wrong, a mistake…" Hermione trailed off. Sure she had said the words, but as soon as they left her she knew she didn't mean them. Clearly something was wrong with her, right? She couldn't possibly be… falling in love with her archenemy?

While occupied by her own thoughts she didn't even notice that Draco left her alone. When she finally came out of her shell and saw that he was gone, panic hit her in the pit of her stomach. She had definitely hurt him!

Wandering aimlessly about in the library she searched for him. She didn't dare call his name, fearing that he'd just flee if he heard her approaching. Somehow she wanted to sort this out. She wanted to sort out her feelings for him. But more importantly she wanted to sort out his feelings for her.

An idea had been developing in her mind. In a way she had had it for a very long time – even before the imprisonment – she had just been denying it. Could it possibly be that Draco Malfoy had romantic feelings for her? She had had the thought before but always brushed it off. There was no way that that arrogant, Pureblood git could want her – she was the embodiment of everything he hated. She was a Muggleborn, she was smart, she was a Gryffindor, she talked back, Harry Potter was her best friend, she was better than him in many ways. No, she had always convinced herself that there was no way on Earth he could want her. But then again there was always something there. After the war he had changed, not radically since he was still a pain and he still argued with her all the time, but she had sensed a change in him during their arguments. He had seemed to enjoy them far more than he usually did. Not in a condescending way like he used to. When he smiled at one of her nasty comebacks his smile was pleasant, she had noticed. Usually he would be snarling but lately he had just been smiling at her, which of course only sparked her anger. And that again made him smile even wider. She had been wondering for a long time why he did that, but whenever her heart told her that he had feelings for her, her head dismissed the thought. It was logically possible. But now… she had genuine doubt. And a just cause for that doubt.

Finally she found him. He was sitting with his back pressed against the back wall of the library under where she knew the little, magical hatch to be. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him sitting there. His position was much like her own after she had heard him talking to his father. He had his arms wrapped around his knees and his forehead resting on his knees. But Hermione was surprised to see the utter defeat in his stance. His usually straight back was bended and he seemed to have given up on everything. Hermione had no clue what to do. The bottom line remained that she didn't even know this guy. She didn't know if he wanted to be consoled, by her or any other person. He struck her as one of those people that preferred to suffer in silence. But Hermione knew that she definitely wasn't one of those people that _let_ others suffer like that.

With quiet, hesitant steps she walked to his side and gently crouched next to him. He didn't react to her intrusion, not before she placed a soothing hand on the back of his head. Without any warning at all his arms left his knees and went around her waist and he pressed his head against her chest and his body against her, making her drop to her bum. She was caught off guard by his sudden movement, and her initial response was to fight him off. But then she heard him sobbing and knew what this was all about. He had probably been on the brink of tears when she found him and the gentle gesture she had made, had finally made him crack. He now hugged her for comfort. Hermione's heart nearly broke when she wrapped one arm around his shoulders and placed the other hand on his head and pressed him against her. Dryly she noted the irony in their current situation – just a few minutes ago their places had been swapped.

When his sobs started quietening she pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head. She didn't know why she did it, she startled both herself and Draco. He freed himself from her embrace, and Hermione felt a sudden emptiness. She now knew why Draco had looked so funnily at her when she had done the same to him earlier. She looked questioningly at him and was surprised to see anger in his face.

"Was this also wrong?" he almost spat at her. Hermione snapped for breath and felt a surge of hurt go through her body. "Just another mistake?"

"No…" she started denying but Draco caught her off.

"I don't need your sympathy, Granger! You don't have to do me any favours at all!"

He rose and paced back and forth with hard, angry steps while gesticulation violently in the air around him. Hermione remained seated and watched him with scared eyes. His anger wasn't new to her, but after what she had just witnessed, his complete and utter surrender, she was surprised that this was actually the same man that she had just held close to her. And she suddenly remembered that this man also had orders to kill her. She didn't feel all that brave anymore. In fact she was scared out of her mind. She felt a tremble start in her body that she couldn't restrain. Draco didn't notice and kept on walking and talking halfway to himself and halfway to her.

"Merlin, I knew this was going to be hard and difficult but I didn't expect it to be like this. I actually thought you had some sort of clue before this all happened! Merlin, was I stupid?! You didn't know a thing and you still don't know. No matter how hard I try you don't get it at all. What am I doing wrong? Am I missing something? All I get from you is pity and believe me it's the last thing I want. This is impossible, I'm supposed to kill you not…"

He didn't finish his sentence, at that moment he saw Hermione sitting on the floor. She was pale white, shivering violently and gasping for breath. Draco's words died instantly.

"Hermione I'm sorry…" he whispered but she shook her head.

"Don't be," her voice was trembling just as much as her body. "It's the truth I guess. I don't know and you should kill me."

Draco was impressed. She was clearly very scared but still she remained brave and as defiant as ever.

"I won't kill you," Draco said and crouched in front of her. He winced when Hermione drew away from him. He felt tired and lost and closed his eyes. "Hermione, you have to believe me. I won't ever hurt you."

"How can I believe you?" she asked her voice more firm now. "You've hurt before, how can I know you won't do it again?"

He sighed and pondered her words. She was right, he knew and he had to accept it.

"I may have hurt you before, and I may very well do that again. I won't deny that. But I'm not a murderer." He stressed the last words. Slowly he reached forward as to not scare her. She didn't shy away this time but just flinched a little when his hand made contact with her white cheek. He slowly stroked it with his thumb and saw her posture become less tense. She started relaxing against his touch. Draco smiled. "You don't have to fear any physical harm from me. I know I've hurt you before, Hermione but you know that I've never laid a hand on you. And I won't. Not like that."

Hermione didn't know what to make of that last sentence. _Not like that._ Did he mean that he wanted to touch her? And then it suddenly dawned on her that he already was. That he already had. And she had liked it every time. When he had kissed her hand. When he had hugged her. When she had hugged him. And now when he was lovingly stroking her cheek. She tensed up again and Draco instantly dropped his hand from her face.

"I'm sorry," he whispered sincerely. Neither knew what exactly he was apologising for, but none the less Hermione's reply was, "I forgive you." And strangely enough she did – she forgave him for all the years of torture he had had put her through, she forgave him for tormenting herself and her friends, she even forgave him for locking her up in the school library and possibly wanting to kill her. None of that mattered to her now. The only thing she cared about was the look of relief on Draco's face when she said the words.

"I've never been forgiven before," he confessed in a hushed whisper. "I never expected you to be the first one to do that. Especially not after everything I've done to you and your friends."

She wanted to say that it wasn't his fault; that he had been brought up that way, but she simply couldn't do it. She knew she was still scared to anger him. It was a strange combination of emotions he invoked in her – fear and safety, rage and happiness. She didn't know what to do with either of those feelings. So to not say or do anything stupid she just settled for smile which Draco warmly returned.

He got to his feet again and held out a hand towards her. She took it and he helped her stand. He let go of her hand and instead wrapped his arm protectively around her slim waist.

"Please figure this out soon," he whispered forcefully while staring bluntly in her eyes. "You're killing me."

Hermione gulped and struggled to regain control of herself. How on earth could he be so darn sexy when he had only said so few words? A pure mystery… and nothing appealed more to Hermione than a mystery.

"I don't want to kill you," she whispered back. "I'll figure it out one way or another." She didn't dare voice the suspicion she already had. Before she did that she wanted more proof that her theory was right.

"Now," Draco said suddenly smiling widely and giddily. "Let's get some dinner. It's been a long and emotional day and I think I owe you some food."

Then he started walking to the kitchen, pulling her with him by the waist. Hermione didn't struggle. Strangely enough she had no desire to cringe away or remove his arm from her waist and his hand from her hip. She let them both remain where they were and silently followed Draco.

_**And then I finished another chapter. The story is slowly progressing now and I think you all have your own theories. By now you should know I think… **_

_**Please review and tell me ALL your thoughts… I don't care if you're thinking COOKIE or something else, just say it.**_


	11. Fourth Morning Alone

**Fourth Morning Alone**

Hermione slowly woke up when a beam of spring light hit her tired eyes. She blinked wearily to rid herself of the last bit of sleepiness. Stretching and yawning she recalled last night. Draco had made a wonderful meal for the both of them, but other than that he hadn't done anything to support her new theory. Not even when they retreated to their little place had he made any advances. He wasn't kidding when he said he wanted her to figure it out on her own. Perhaps she was all wrong after all. Perhaps an epiphany was just around the corner. There was no way of knowing. They had stayed up late, but they hadn't spent the time talking. They had both been sitting with a book of their own. She had finished the Muggle poetry book and Draco had taken it for himself as soon as she had put it down. Sometimes he had read a poem aloud, Hermione wasn't sure if he was reading them to her or just for his own pleasure, but she was grateful that she was sitting down because when he read with that voice of his she wasn't sure her knees would have been able to support her, had she been standing up. Finally she hadn't been able to stay awake anymore and had fallen asleep with a book on her stomach. Halfway into unconsciousness she felt Draco remove the book and pull the cover tightly around her body.

Now she was awake again and shot a look at Draco's chair. When she saw him she bolted upright in her chair and pulled the blanket up to cover her torso. He was staring at her once again and his lips were curled up into a small, joyous smile. When he saw her reaction he started laughing.

"Don't laugh," Hermione said when she started regaining her cool. "How would you feel if you woke up and found some creep staring at you?" Her comeback only made Draco laugh harder and she felt herself relax to the sound of his booming laugh.

"I'd think nothing of it because I'm used to creeps and other sorts watching me," he laughed with soft eyes burning into hers. "You're only uncomfortable with this because you're not used to it."

"I don't think I want to get used to it," Hermione mumbled to herself but Draco picked up on the words.

"You should," he said still smiling. "Like it or not you're attractive and I'm not going to be the only one staring at you."

She blinked in utter disbelief and confusion. Had Draco Malfoy just called her attractive?

"I don't like it," she mumbled stubbornly.

"Nothing you can do about it," Draco said and rose to his feet. "People – guys especially – will be watching you all the time. Many of them already are. I can't do anything to stop them." He spoke the last words with some sort of wanting that Hermione didn't understand. Did he _want_ to prevent guys from looking at her or what? Oh Merlin, could this whole thing simply be because of some twisted claim he thought he had on her? Perhaps there were no feelings on his part just plain possessiveness. When she looked up at him again he had almost rounded the bookshelf and disappeared.

"Where are you going?" she called after him when he disappeared out of eyesight. He stuck his head back and shot her a teasing look she didn't like.

"I'm leaving you alone," he said and laughed at her confusion. "You desperately need a bath, and as much as I'd like to I won't watch."

Hermione was completely thrown off at these words. Sure enough, there was still a smudge of the old, annoying Draco in him. He could still irritate her beyond anything else. But what had he meant with the whole wanting to watch her? She didn't know what to make of it when she got up and started transfiguring the table. She was torn between two theories:

1. Draco Malfoy had genuine feelings for her and wanted to keep her safe even from his own father

2. Draco Malfoy was physically attracted to her and felt that she belonged to him and he would defy everyone, even his own father, to keep her

Both scenarios were definite possibilities and she didn't know which one to believe. The last one seemed most likely if she thought of Draco as the arrogant git she had always known him to be. But yet there was something about the first possibility that made it seem just as likely. She sighed and started to fill the newly made tub with water. Was it possible that she was only drawn to possibility number one because she was starting to develop feelings for him herself? Yeah, scenario number two definitely seemed more like the Draco she knew. But hadn't she just yesterday thought that he had changed? Could that change involve him having genuine feelings for her?

When the water was warm she slid into the tub and closed her eyes. She let the warmth erase all thoughts from her head and all weariness from her body. Feeling that something was missing from her bath, she added some bubbles with her wand and suddenly felt like a little girl again. Just as she put down her wand again, Draco came running into their space. He had a hand over his eyes – apparently he was serious about not watching her – and his body was tense as if he was angry.

"What did you just do Granger?" he snapped at her. She was desperately rearranging the bubbles to cover her body even though he couldn't see her.

"What do you mean Malfoy?" she snapped back, strangely hurt that he was calling her by her last name again. "I haven't done anything!"

"You used some sort of spell I don't know about!"

His ignorance sent a giggle through her body. It exited her mouth as a full-blown laugh.

"You didn't know that spell?" she laughed, all anger evaporated her body. Draco shook his head. "Look at me." She wasn't really sure why she said that. She could have just told him what the spell was and then he'd leave but something prevented her from doing that. "Look at me."

"But you're naked." Draco sounded confused but there was an underline of want in his tone that Hermione couldn't deny. Suddenly scenario number two seemed more likely than number one.

"I promise you won't see anything," she said.

Slowly Draco removed his hand from his eyes and looked at her. His eyes grew big when he saw her and his mouth fell open.

"See?" Hermione laughed as she held out a handful of bubbles. "I just thought something was missing."

Draco gulped so hard that Hermione could see his Adam's apple moving. His eyes strayed from the bubbles in her hand and landed on her face. Hermione snapped for breath when she saw the unmistakable lust burning in his eyes, making the grey seem almost black. He gulped again and took and involuntary step closer to her. Hermione dropped her hand back into the water and drew her legs up under her. Her knees broke through the surface of the water, and Draco's eyes instantly went to look at them. The lust instantly became more evident. He licked his lips. Hermione's heart quickened and her breath felt heavy and hard. Without knowing why she let a hand slowly and teasingly travel over one knee. Draco licked his lips again and watched her motion as if mesmerised by her bold action. Then he suddenly closed his eyes and turned his back on her. She felt a stab of hurt in her chest when he did so. Wasn't he supposed to want her?

"You're killing me Hermione," he whispered with a husky voice that sent sparks through Hermione's body. She wanted so badly to get out of the water, stand behind him and wrap her arms around his waist. To press her entire body against him and not let go. But she remained where she was. "Please figure it out before I do something I might regret."

Without another word he walked away and left Hermione with a feeling of loneliness and abandonment. She sat in the water for a little while longer before getting up and dressing herself.

As she pulled a green, tight blouse over her head she again pondered at Draco's reaction to her. She had been completely covered by water and bubbles and yet he was clearly aroused by her. It couldn't be denied that he had been close to jumping into that tub with her. But somehow he had refrained from doing just that. It was so evident it his every feature that he would wanted nothing more than to just ravish her, and Hermione wasn't sure if she would have stopped him, had he acted on his want. But he hadn't. He had walked away again. Was this the final proof she needed, her mind thought as she transfigured the table back to its normal shape. Was this the proof that told her that he was genuinely romantically attracted to _her_ and not just to her body? Heavily she fell into her chair. She had to ask him. She couldn't take this anymore. She had to know.

Determined to figure this whole mess out she got up and started walking about to find him. As she had expected he was standing in the kitchen cooking breakfast. He looked good doing so. He was sure of himself in the kitchen, knew where everything was, and he was gracefully as no one else as he bend down to get plates from a low cupboard. She cleared her throat and he spun around to face her. His lips instantly parted into a great smile. There were still traces of lust in his face, but they were vagrant and she ignored it.

"Sit down," he said gesturing at a chair. Without her acceptance her body obeyed his words. How could she not when he was so pleasant?

When she was sitting he placed a big plate of toast and eggs in front of her. She felt her mouth watering and quickly scooped a forkful into her mouth. Draco laughed at her eagerness and sat down next to her with his own plate.

"You smell better," he noted after a few seconds of silence.

Hermione laughed genuinely. "Do I look better?" she asked.

Draco laughed back when he answered her, "No, I prefer you in bubbles."

The words were meant like a joke, but Draco couldn't conceal the sincerity. Hermione gulped much like he had done a few minutes earlier.

"Draco, I need to tell you something," she whispered and avoided his suddenly alert eyes.

"Shoot," he said also whispering.

"I think I've solved the last part of the problem." She hesitated and darted a look at Draco. His body was tense and his look were hard to decipher.

"Tell me," Draco pleaded and grabbed her hand tightly. He was practically holding his breath waiting for her reply.

"I have two theories… in the one theory you are keeping mere here, away from your father, because you feel like you have some claim over me and my body." She paused and watched his eyes. He looked hurt. "In the other theory you're keeping me here, safe from your father, because you're in love with me." She kept on watching him, but his facial expression didn't change.

"Which theory are you leaning towards?" he asked with a hoarse voice.

Hermione took a deep breath before she answered, "The last one."

For a second Draco didn't react. Then suddenly, with no warning at all, he jumped out of his chair, pulling Hermione with him as he stood. He pulled her flush against him with a firm hand on the small of her back and the other hand curled tightly in her hair. His lips descended upon hers and her nostrils were flooded by his cinnamon scent. Her entire body seemed alert to his and her lips were moving towards his. Her heart thumped violently and she could even fill his heart against her chest. As his tongue ran over her lips to ask for entry she moaned in acceptance. When their tongues touched she was afraid that she might faint from the mind numbing sensation. She finally felt like she belonged somewhere.

_**Well, since it's weekend I thought I'd give you all a little treat – two chapters in two days. Hopefully you love this chapter just like I do. And hopefully you're not disappointed.**_

_**Reviews are greatly appreciated.**_


	12. Fourth Afternoon Alone

**Fourth Afternoon Alone**

They pulled apart both gasping frantically for breath. Their eyes locked and Hermione couldn't contain a wide, goofy grin. She had just kissed Draco Malfoy and enjoyed every second of it. Who knew she would ever do a thing like that?

"Wow," Draco breathed and completely voiced her thoughts.

"I know," she sighed and leaned into his firm chest. Protectively Draco wrapped his arms around her frail shoulders and pulled her even closer. "So what do we do now?"

Draco laughed and Hermione felt the rumble in his chest against her cheek. She liked it when he laughed. It made him seem more human and less like the Draco she thought she had known.

"Classic Hermione," Draco laughed. "Always wondering and thinking. Don't you ever let go?"

"I just did," she responded and cocked her head to look at him. He was smiling broadly down at her. "That kiss was me letting go."

"And you liked it, didn't you?" Draco's smile became sly and Hermione blushed as she nodded.

"I liked it very much."

"So did I."

They stood close together in silence for a while before Draco released her from his grip. Hermione moaned at the loss of his arms and Draco laughed sweetly at her vulnerability.

"Let's do something," he declared and took her hand.

"Like what?" she asked and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't know," he said and smirked at her, making her blush all over again. "Something fun."

Immediately Hermione's thoughts went to the wrong sort of fun – the kind of fun that had nearly happened when she was sitting in the tub and he was watching her – and her blush turned dark crimson. Draco's laugh was as loud as thunder when he saw the colour erupt on her cheeks and she hurriedly hid her face in her hands.

"Good Merlin Hermione, what kind of fun were you thinking about?"

Hermione shook her head while she quickly mumbled, "Nothing – nothing at all."

Draco was still laughing when he took hold of her hands and removed them from her face. She tried to turn her head away and avoid his eyes, but he took both of her hands in one of his and with his other hand he caught her chin and tilted her face towards him.

"I love that colour on you," he remarked and stroked her cheek with his thumbs. "Just as I like the colour of the shirt you're wearing."

His sly smile made Hermione confused and she shot a glance down herself. What shirt had she put on after her bath? She couldn't remember, but when she saw it, she knew why Draco liked it. The shirt was green, the colour of Slytherin.

"Oh," was all she could say and Draco grinned.

"It looks good on you," he said, still stroking her cheek. "It makes your eyes sparkle."

Suddenly Hermione felt cornier than ever before and answered, "I don't think it's the colour that does that."

Draco sent her a questioningly look.

"I think you're the one doing that to my eyes."

At her words Draco's face broke into a happy grin and he leaned forward to kiss her again. Their second kiss was tender and sweet, loving and heartfelt. There was no rush to the movements of their lips. When the kiss ended neither of them felt the need to move too far from the other. Draco rested his forehead against Hermione's and breathed the sweet scent of her breath. Timidly Hermione brought a hand to Draco's face. He closed his eyes at the touch and seemed to enjoy it immensely. Lightly she traced the contours of his face starting with his high cheekbones. Her fingers ran from his cheeks to the bridge of his nose down and all the way down its length. She paid special attention to his soft lips when she reached them next. They were slightly puffy and red from their kiss and she knew hers looked something like them as well. From his lips she came to his pointed chin and his masculine jaw. His earlobe was next on her list and she lightly pinched it, making Draco gasp in surprise. She chuckled and pinched it again. Then her fingers ran across his cheekbones again and ended on his eyelids. They fluttered lightly at her touch and Draco sighed contently. Taking a hold of Draco's face with both her hands Hermione leaned against him and pressed a quick, soft kiss against his lips. He didn't have time to respond before she pulled away. Confused Draco opened his eyes and watched her watching him.

"You're beautiful," she whispered and a delicious red colour spread in her cheeks.

"No," Draco protested. "You make me beautiful."

Hermione was glad that he hadn't said she was the one who was beautiful. She knew she wasn't. She wasn't plain or anything, but she wasn't beautiful either. Not like Draco was. And he knew not to lie to her even if it was to make her feel better. Ron had never understood that about her. He always said that she was beautiful even though she very well knew she wasn't. It annoyed her to be lied to no matter what kind of lie. It was nice that Draco got her like that.

"What do you feel like doing?" she asked him and he shrugged.

"How about we just talk?" he suggested. "We don't really know each other."

"Sounds good to me," she answered and took his hand. Hand in hand they walked to their spot in the library. When they arrived she let go of his hand and was about to sit down in her own chair when Draco grabbed her around the waist and pulled her with him as he sat in his chair. She was pressed flush against his body, sitting on his lap. She laughed at this she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Draco answered with a laugh of his own. Then he grabbed her legs under her knees and pulled them into the chair so that she was sitting curled up in his lap.

"I feel like a cat," she laughed.

"Not a cat," Draco whispered and silenced Hermione. "A lion. My lion."

Her heart fluttered violently at those words and her breath was caught in her throat. He had called her his. And she hadn't minded at all. Just the opposite in fact. It had pleased her immensely.

"Tell me something about yourself," Draco pleaded enticingly. "Something nobody else knows."

His strange plea threw her off balance for a second before she started thinking. What could she tell him that no one else knew? Ron and Harry knew everything there was to know about her, they were her best friends. Was there anything about her that they didn't know? That nobody knew? Then it hit her. There was something she could tell him.

"When I was younger I wanted to be a professional singer," she confessed and felt heat in her cheeks again. It was embarrassing, she thought, to admit that. She, who had such a great sense of logic, had wanted to be a singer. That business was probably the most unstable one. And yet she wanted it.

"Can you sing?" Draco asked and pulled her from her thoughts. He had a strange ability to do that.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "I just know that I like."

"Would you sing for me?" Draco asked and stared her straight in the eyes. She gulped and found it incredibly hard to deny him anything. But she found the strength to shake her head. Draco's face fell flat. "Why not?"

"I've never sung for anyone before," she said. "I'm too shy for that."

"Please?" That was all it took for Hermione's will to falter and crumple. She sighed and closed her eyes in surrender.

"Fine…" Then she started singing.

_There's a place where I can hide_

_ A place that is all my own_

_ No one know about where I go_

_ When I want to be myself_

_ When I want to be alone_

_ All on my own I know who I am_

_ I recognise myself _

_ And I feel what I feel_

_ Think the thoughts I want to think_

_ Alone is where I belong_

_ There's a place where I can feel safe_

_ A place that belongs to me_

_ No one knows about my place_

_ No one knows who I really am_

_ Only my place can make me me_

_All on my own I know who I am_

_ I recognise myself _

_ And I feel what I feel_

_ Think the thoughts I want to think_

_ Alone is where I belong_

She stopped and held her breath, waiting for Draco's reaction. She opened her eyes to watch him and was startled by what she saw. He's face was serine and he had a tear gleaming in his one eyes. Gently she reached out and stroked the tear from his face.

"That was exceptionally beautiful," he breathed. "I don't know that song…"

"I wrote it myself," she confessed. "A couple of years ago."

"Wow," he whispered. "Beautiful."

Then he hugged her close and stroked her hair caressingly. "Beautiful," he repeated.

"Now tell me something nobody knows about you," Hermione said, still feeling a little awkward.

Draco shifted a little in the chair.

"Sometimes I wish I was born a regular Muggle," he whispered against her hair. She froze instantly when she heard his revelation.

"Why?"

"It seems so easy," he mused. "It's like they don't have a care in world. They only worry about living and being happy."

"Do you worry about something else?"

"I worry about surviving."

Hermione placed a hand over his heart and stroked his chest through his shirt.

"Many Muggles worry about that as well," she told him.

"Not in the same sense that I do," Draco said.

"Tell me how you're different."

"You know about this whole deal with my father," Draco started and then paused before continuing. "If I don't kill you, Hermione, my father will most likely kill me. I don't think many other Muggles face that kind of thing."

"Perhaps not many," Hermione admitted and snuggled closer to Draco's chest to offer more support and comfort. "But I don't think being a Muggle is easier that being a Wizard. We have out advantages and disadvantages just like Muggles have theirs."

She felt Draco nod against her hair.

"I know that," he sighed. "But I still think my life would have been easier if I was born into a Muggle family."

Hermione hesitated before she responded.

"If you had been born Muggle you wouldn't have met me," she whispered shyly.

Draco pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I know," he said and kissed her forehead. "And that's the only reason why I'm glad I'm a wizard. Only you, Hermione."

Then he placed a finger under her chin and cocked her face up to his. His lips quickly captured hers. They kissed with intense passion and longing as if they'd die without the other's lips. Hermione tried to pour all her emotions into the kiss. She tried to show Draco just how much she had come to care for him and how much she supported him and understood him. She was pressed firmly against him. Draco had his hands on her hips and he was slowly inching up her shirt till his fingers made contact with her bare skin. Hermione gasped at the touch and Draco used the opportunity to force his tongue into her mouth. His fingers dug into her skin and held her even closer than before. She was his saviour. She was his angel. And it was his job to kill her.

_**Sorry for the long wait, I've been so busy but finally found the time to give you all an update. Hope you enjoyed the read and that you're satisfied.**_

_**As always – review your finger off!**_


	13. Fifth Night Alone

**Fifth Night Alone**

It was his job to kill her.

As she watched him make them both dinner, Hermione again remembered just why they were locked in together. He had a mission to kill her, but because of his affections towards her he had decided to shelter her instead and keep her safe. But could he do that? The question kept stealing Hermione's thoughts because the truth was – she didn't have the answer.

There was nothing Hermione detested more than to not have the answer to a question, but with this she had to plead unknowing. She didn't doubt Draco's feelings for her – they were suddenly present in his every movement, his every word and every look he sent her. No, there was no doubt in her mind that Draco was in love with her. She was also sure that he had locked them in the library to keep her safe from his ravenous father. It wasn't those things that had Hermione's brain boggling. It was whether or not he could keep on defying his father.

Lucius Malfoy was a frightening and intimidating man; Hermione had experienced that first hand. Even though he had been frightened last she saw him, he was positively ruthless and deprived of moral – that was what made Hermione so scared of him. When she had been in his possession he had not thought twice about handing her over to his Lord, Voldemort. He also hadn't protested when his sister-in-law had started torturing her. No, Lucius Malfoy was definitely not a man to joke around with or take lightly. Not when he was scared and not when he was craving revenge.

How could she be assured that Draco wasn't going to cave in and kill her? She really didn't know him. She had no way of knowing how much pressure he could handle. Especially not when the one pressuring him was his own father. Could she really be sure that the feelings he had for her was enough to make him standing firm against his own flesh and blood? No matter how bad their relationship might be and how crazy Draco was about her, could she completely rely on him? There was saying if Draco was strong enough to protect her.

Knowing Lucius, however little she did, he was a man that stopped at nothing to get what he wanted. And for the time being he wanted her and her friends dead. Was it possible that Lucius would manipulate his own son to kill her?

And then a new thought entered her mind; why had Lucius asked _his son_ to kill her? Surely he had lots of other minions to order around. So why his son? Lucius very well knew that Hermione wasn't some silly, scared school girl that shied away from pain. She was the kind of girl that fought back when in danger. Therefore there was a possibility that Draco would be harmed. And still Lucius had ordered him to do it? Something didn't make sense… even if Lucius was devious and cruel enough to indirectly harm his own son Narcissa Malfoy was not the kind of woman to allow that. Harry had told her how Narcissa had saved his life because Harry told her of Draco. She had been so relieved to hear that her child was safe that she had lied to Voldemort and told him that Harry was dead. And by doing so saving Harry's life. Hermione was certain that Narcissa would have stopped Lucius… that was to say, if she had known about his plans.

"You think too much Hermione." Draco's gently scolding voice ripped Hermione from her unpleasant thoughts. She laughed nervously and saw Draco's brows furrow. "What were you thinking about?"

She shook her head and took the plate from his grip. Once again he had conjured a beautiful meal that pleased the eye as well as the nose and taste buds. He had made her some sort of Indian dish with chicken and bulgur. Normally Hermione didn't enjoy Indian, she found it to foreign and outlandish, but this actually made her mouth water.

"It looks delicious," she said and plunged her fork into the bulgur and a piece of chicken. Sure enough it tasted just as well as it looked. Quickly Hermione took another bite and then another.

"I'm glad you like the food," Draco said, but something in his voice made Hermione think that he really didn't care about that. She raised her head to look questioningly at him. "Don't change the subject, Hermione. I don't like when people do that."

Hermione gulped, but didn't answer him. True, she didn't like it when people changed the subject either, but she just didn't think she could tell him about her thoughts. They really wouldn't make him all that happy.

"Tell me what you were thinking before." Draco sounded both demanding and pleading. It was a combination that was hard for Hermione to refuse. And yet she couldn't tell him.

"It was nothing," she brushed him off. "Just some silly musing."

"If it was nothing you wouldn't mind telling me then," Draco kept on insisting.

"Really, it's nothing you would be interested in hearing."

Draco _tsk_ed her but she didn't give in.

"Hermione, every thought you have is interesting to me just because they're yours."

Hermione felt herself blush violently and turned her head in embarrassment.

"Fine," she sighed in defeat. "I was thinking about your mother." Well, it wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the entire truth either.

"What about my mother?" Draco asked and suddenly sounded guarded. Hermione turned her head and dared to look at him again.

"Nothing bad, Draco," she hurriedly said. "I was just thinking about how much she loves you. That's all."

Draco's eyes narrowed, his brows contracted and his lips became a thin line in his beautiful, pale face.

"You're keeping something from me," he said through his teeth. "What is it Hermione?"

Suddenly she found herself scared of him again. Once again she realised that she really didn't know this man. She didn't know what he was capable off.

"Er," she stammered and dropped her gaze to her twitching fingers. "I don't know…"

But Draco stopped her before she could go any further.

"Don't explain Hermione," he said and sounded defeated. "I think I know what's going on. You don't trust me."

Hermione's first reaction was to deny that and reassure him. She wanted to reach out, hug him and tell him that she trusted him with every fibre of her being. But she just couldn't lie to him.

"You're right," she whispered. "I'm sorry, but I don't. I want to, but I just don't."

Draco was silent and the only sound in the kitchen was their breathing.

"It's okay," Draco finally said and stood with his back to her. "I guess I shouldn't expect anything like that. I certainly haven't given you any reason to trust me that's for sure. So I guess I understand. Although I had hoped…"

He fell silent and Hermione saw how he suddenly slouched, his back hunching over and his head dropping. In an instant she was on her feet and had her arms wrapped around Draco's slender waist and her cheek pressed firmly against his lean back.

"Draco…" she whispered but didn't know what else to say.

Draco laced his fingers with hers and sighed.

"Don't bother, Hermione," he said still sounding defeated. "I don't deserve your trust, but I'll try my hardest to gain it anyway."

He removed her hands and turned around her arms. He was looking down at her with sadness and determination in his eyes. His emotions were so overwhelming that Hermione started feeling uneasy and pressed her face to his chest.

"Don't tell me what you were thinking," he said with determination. "I don't want to pressure you. But I promise you that one day you'll trust me and want to share every thought, every idea and every emotion with me. I promise you that Hermione. One day."

"You don't know how much I want that," she mumbled into his shirt. His arms went protectively around her shoulders and he held her tight. She nuzzled her nose against his shirt and suddenly wished that he wasn't wearing it. She blushed again and even though Draco couldn't see the rosy colour of her cheeks she buried her face in his shirt. She felt Draco's chest rumble with laughter and his fingers slid through her hair. His lips graced the top of her head and she actually felt safe.

"You are adorable," he whispered into her hair and Hermione was grateful that he couldn't see her face. "And you are kind, understanding, honest and intelligent. Actually it was all of that that made me hate you back then."

At those words Hermione lifted her head to study his face.

"How so?" she asked.

"You were, you are, all the things I knew I wasn't," he started explaining. "It was petty of me, but I was instantly jealous. Jealousy isn't really something I'm familiar with – especially not when it comes to your virtues. So I decided that hating you was easier than being jealous."

"It sort of makes sense," Hermione mused and wrinkled her nose. "But it's quite childish, don't you think?"

Draco laughed again and tugged her hair gently.

"Of course it is," he laughed. "But I doubt you have a better reason than me."

"My reason is solid," she said firmly.

Draco bent his face closer to Hermione's until his eyes were only an inch from hers.

"Tell me," he said huskily, his hushed voice sending delicate shivers down her spine.

"You were mean to me and my friends," she said and silently cursed her shaky voice.

"So you mean to tell me," Draco said still seductively and huskily, "that you only hated me because I hated you? Tsk tsk, a poor, childish reason Miss Granger."

Hermione's legs started to tremble, as Draco's eyes promised mischief and pleasure. Ever so slowly he inched closer to her, never blinking or breaking eye contact. He tugged gently on her hair making her head angle backwards and brought her lips still closer to his until they finally clashed. With an unmatched hunger Draco kissed her and probed her mouth with his expert tongue. Before she could do anything to stop him, Draco had released her hair and scooped her into his strong arms. Still kissing her he carried her to their corner where he sat her down on her own chair. She pouted slightly when his lips left hers and he straightened up. He blinked mischievously at her as he drew his wand and pointed it at the table. Hermione instantly recognised the spell and her cheeks as well as her ears went red. He was transforming the table into a bed. A king-size bed.

"Draco…" she whispered shyly. "What are you doing?"

"Come on, Hermione, you know what I'm doing," he said and flashed her a wide grin. Once the bed was made he expertly conjured two pillows and a large duvet. "Are you sleepy?" he asked her, smirking.

She shook her head in denial. "Not at all."

"Well, there are other things to do in a bed," he said and winked at her, making Hermione hide her red face in her hands. "What's wrong, Hermione?" His voice didn't sound the least bit concerned but more teasing.

"I can't do that," Hermione whispered into her hands.

"Do what?" Draco asked innocently.

"What you want to do?"

"And what is it that I want to do?"

Hermione hesitated before she shyly whispered, "Have sex."

Draco's rumbling laugh made her sneak a peek at him over the tips of her fingers. His eyes were watching her, and his hands were over his stomach. Clearly he was having a good time.

"I never said I wanted to have sex, Hermione," he laughed. "If we were going to do anything in that department we would make love – at least the first time that is."

"Oh Merlin," Hermione said uncomfortably and embarrassed, hiding behind her hands again.

"You truly are adorable," Draco laughed and wrapped her arms around her. Soon she was resting in his arms as he carried her again, this time depositing her on the newly made bed. As soon as he let her go she huddled up and hid her face in a pillow. He laughed again and sat down next to her, his hand lying gently on her hip. "I'm not planning on having sex with you or even making love to you before you're ready for that. Although I can't deny that I greatly want to do both."

Hermione couldn't find any words to answer him with. But to show that she appreciated what he was doing, she switched in the bed so that her head was resting in his lap. She peeked at him from under batted eyelashes and he smiled down at her.

"Should we get ready for bed?" he whispered and she nodded. She got up and went to her suitcase to pull out her pyjamas. When she turned around with the shorts and shirt in her hands, Draco was almost gone.

"What are you doing?" she said and stopped him.

"I'm giving you some privacy," he explained. "Thought you didn't need me here while you were changing."

Hermione thought about that for a little while, but then shook her head.

"I'll just turn my back," she said and smiled nervously. Draco widely returned the smile and sat down comfortably on the bed. "Are you going to watch?" That wasn't exactly what she had imagined happening.

"Wasn't that what you suggested?"

"Not quite…" she stopped when Draco started turning around. "But sure, it's okay."

Before he could detect her faint blush she quickly turned around. She paused for a moment to decide what the smartest course of action would be. In the end she decided to start by removing her pants – her shirt should be long enough to cover her buttocks. Slowly she opened the fly and pulled the pants down. Behind her she heard Draco gasp and she was strangely pleased that she could bring that kind of reaction from him. Just as slowly as before she pulled on the super short, blue shorts she slept in. They were hardly long enough to conceal her buttocks, but they were comfy. Next she grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. Reaching up she grasped the clasp of the bra, but before she opened it, she couldn't help throwing a daring glance over her shoulder. Draco was watching her every move intently. She smiled crookedly and opened the clasp. Again he gasped and Hermione answered with a chuckle. As she started sliding the bra of her arms his mouth fell open. Turning away from him again, she slowly put on the matching, blue shirt. When the last button was buttoned she crawled back into bed.

"Wow," Draco breathed and before Hermione knew what was going on her back was pressed against the bed, her chest against his and her lips were merging with his.

_**So, here's a new chapter! Hope you liked it!**_

_**Review, all my sweethearts!**_


	14. Fifth Morning Alone

**Fifth Morning Alone**

Something was touching her calf. It was creeping across her exposed skin back and forth and back again. And then in circles. Then it pinched her! Her eyes flew open and stared straight into Draco's smiley face.

"What was that for?" she screeched and pushed his hand away from her leg. He just continued laughing. Hermione tried to hold onto her cold veneer, tried to maintain her anger, but it was difficult. Draco's laugh was positively infectious and she caught the bug alright. She crumbled up and started laughing as well.

"Good morning Hermione," Draco said softly as they came down from their high again and pressed a tender kiss to her lips.

"Good morning Draco," she whispered, smiling just as widely as he. "Now, why did you pinch me?"

Draco sent her a wicked smile and answered, "You were talking in your sleep."

"I was not!" she said hotly. "What on earth would I be talking about?"

"You said my name a fair few times," Draco said and cocked his eyebrow in a suggestive manner. Hermione decided to play it dumb, even though she had a pretty clear idea as to what he meant.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked innocently.

"I just mean that I like hearing my name on your lips when it's followed by a moan."

Hermione instantly turned red, grabbed her pillow and started beating Draco with it. He was laughing violently, shaking and rolling around on the bed trying to avoid the raging pillow coming for his face. When Hermione initiated a particularly aggressive attack, Draco rolled to the side and while the pillow collided with the bed Hermione's balance was thrown off. Her state of vulnerability gave Draco the time to grab her wrist, making her let go of the pillow, and roll her on top of himself. He still held her wrists as she was lying with her head on his chest and they were both laughing. Neither of them thought about how strange they would have looked to everyone else. Merlin, if someone had walked in on them they would have gotten a heart attack. But as it were nobody disturbed them and they were too much at peace to realise just how this would seem to others.

As their laughs quieted Hermione raised her head and put her chin on Draco's chest so she could look at his face. She was absolutely certain she had never seen anything as beautiful as his face with a sincere smile on his lips. It was a sight she knew she would treasure forever.

"Draco, did I really talk in my sleep?" she asked a little nervous. Draco's smile faded a little and he looked serious.

"You did," he confessed.

"What did I say?" Hermione didn't like the tone he had said the words in. It sounded like something was wrong. As if she'd done something wrong.

"Well, you _did_ say my name once or twice," Draco said hesitantly. "Put then you said something else. I honestly hadn't meant to pinch you, but what you said surprised me."

"What was it?" she felt herself getting anxious now. This was probably really bad. Or just very, very serious.

"After you'd said my name a couple of time you suddenly said something else. You said _Harry_."

She didn't know what to answer to that. Honestly she didn't think it was that big a deal. Harry was her best friend. He was even more than that; he was the brother she never had. Why did it bother Draco so?

"Yes?" she prompted him to continue.

"I just didn't like that," he said and sounded slightly embarrassed.

"Why not?" Hermione asked gently. She was desperately trying to understand.

"I just liked it better when you said my name," Draco said with finality and looked away, but he didn't fool Hermione.

"That's not the truth," she stated. "Well, perhaps it is, but it's only a part of it."

Draco growled; an irritated sound that rumbled through his chest and straight into Hermione's ear, where it sent electric shivers all through her body. And then the puzzle pieces came together – Draco was threatened.

"Draco, you feel threatened by my relationship with Harry, don't you?" she asked and reached out to stroke his cheek. She only just graced him before he swatted her hand away and leapt out of the bed. Angrily he gathered his clothes and started pulling on his black denim pants. Hermione remained in the bed totally shocked by what had just happened. "Draco?"

He didn't bulge. He remained sitting with his back to her. She had the strongest desire to reach out and hug him close, but she had a feeling that he wouldn't like that.

"Draco, talk to me!" she demanded with the strict voice she also used to scold Harry and Ron.

"I don't want to," Draco said stubbornly and stood up. Just as he was about to leave, Hermione got off the bed and took a hold of his arm. He turned around and looked at her with narrow, hard eyes. He didn't seem to recognise her. His nostrils flared. Hermione was about to draw back, but before she got the change, Draco had pushed her onto the bed. He stood hovering above her, breathing heavily and with angry, burning eyes. Instinctively Hermione curled up to protect herself if he was to jump her, as it looked like he might very well do. As she whimpered pathetically, Draco seemed to come to his senses. Hermione watched as his expression turned from rage, to surprise to horror.

"Dear Merlin!" he exclaimed and knelt on the bed. Without thinking Hermione crawled backwards away from him. She hadn't forgotten the outrageous sight of his all consuming anger. She was still scared as Hell that he might do something to her – intentional or otherwise.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice breaking from guilt and sorrow. "I didn't mean to… I'd never hurt you… I shouldn't have… I'm so sorry!"

When she didn't react to his apologies he slowly went closer to her. She drew back again like a scared animal until she reached the end of the bed. It was clear that Draco was hurt by her actions, but she didn't really have the capacity to take his emotions into consideration. Tryingly Draco reached out to her. She didn't move further away, but as his fingers touched her shoulder she flinched and Draco instantly pulled back.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Are you alright?"

Hermione fought to regain her lost voice, but something massive was blocking it. She settled for nodding. Draco didn't seem like he believed her, his eyes still full of worry and guilt.

"Can I come closer?" he asked, but as he tried she held out a hand to stop him.

Finally her voice returned, "Just give me a second." She took a deep, calming breath, closed her eyes and then nodded again. She didn't look at him as he slowly came closer. She felt his knee against hers and his arm going around her shoulders. He didn't try to hug her and she was grateful for that. Instead he just comforted her with a friendly, loving arm.

"I didn't mean to react like that," he whispered close to her ear. The remorse was eminent and dripping from every word he uttered. "Of course that's no excuse for what I did. I don't know what to say. How could you ever forgive me?"

"Tell me what upset you," she demanded in a faint voice. She was still a little shaken up. "I don't want to know so that I'll know not to bring it up again. I want to know so we can get it out of the way and move on. Get over it."

"Sounds fair," Draco said and let go of her shoulder. As he did Hermione straightened up and looked closely at him. He ignored her stare and kept his gaze fixed on his thighs. "You hit a nerve," he started with a weak voice. "No, not just that, you hit your head on the nail. And I didn't like being confronted with the truth. I guess I'll have to learn that, since that's what you do. I'm not blaming you!" he added this quickly when he felt Hermione stiffen. "I think that's a good thing. I'm too used to having everything go my way. It's nice to be put down once in a while, even though I don't particularly like it. But you see, I am threatened of you relationship with Potter."

After this revelation he finally turned his face to look at her. She was guarded but otherwise neutral, nodding her head to get him to continue. He sighed before he obliged.

"I've always known that you and Potter had some special bond, but that had never really bothered me before. Not until I started realising that I had feelings for you. Suddenly nothing bothered me more. I don't know, I just got extremely jealous when you said his name, because that meant you must have been dreaming about him. An old insecurity flared to life. And then you were so blunt about it and confronted me, and I just completely snapped. I really have to learn not doing that. I never want to see you scared of me again."

Hermione had no reply. She had nothing to say. She felt strangely proud that he admitted his shortcomings and she wanted to award him. She gave him a chaste kiss on one cheek. He smiled goofily back at her.

"I'm a prick," he said and sighed again.

"Not all the time," Hermione said with a smile. "But sometimes yes. You need to know that what I have with Harry I can have with no one else. No one will be able to take his place in my heart. He's my brother, Draco. Maybe not in blood but in every other aspect, he's my brother. And I love him. If you want us – you and I – to have a future, you'll have to accept Harry as well."

"I don't want to take his place," Draco said and gently cupped Hermione's face. "I want a place that is all my own. If only you'll open your heart to me."

She didn't try to avoid his scorching eyes as they burned into hers.

"Give me reason to do that," she whispered. "I want so much to do it, but I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?" he asked softly. "Afraid I'll betray you? That I'm just playing a joke on you?"

"Afraid that you'll leave once I've given you everything I have. Afraid you'll steal my heart and run off with it. Bust most of all I'm afraid to have stronger feelings for you than you have for me."

"There's nothing for you to be afraid of," he whispered and suddenly flinched. "I can't really say that after they way I just treated you, can I? Well, you asked for a reason. I'll give it to you."

He kissed her swiftly, pulled back and held her gaze.

"I love you."

_**Haha, I really love making cliff hangers at the moment. Hope you all don't hate me too much for it.**_

_**Please review or I will sue. Narh, perhaps I won't go to those lengths. Let's just say… REVIEW!**_


	15. Fifth Afternoon Alone

**Fifth Afternoon Alone**

"Excuse me, what?" Hermione was stunned by Draco's words. She had had a hunch that that was the true nature of his feelings, but she hadn't in a million years expected him to voice it. Not yet, anyway. But now he had, and in the process he had made her every heart string vibrate and make the sweetest music known to her ears. Well, it wasn't as sweet as what he had said, but still.

"I love you, Granger," Draco said with a wicked, sly smile. "It may not be what you want to hear, but it's what I feel."

Smiling, Hermione placed a gentle hand on Draco's cheeks and caressed it softly with her thumb.

"It's exactly what I wanted to hear," she whispered. "Although I don't yet know if I can return your feelings, I do know that I find myself immensely attracted to you."

"That's always something," Draco smirked. "I didn't expect you to just say it right back, Hermione. Please don't think I'm pressuring you or anything. I didn't say it to hear you say it to me. All in good time."

"I never figured you this understanding," Hermione admitted after a few seconds of silence.

"That's because you always figured me crude and rude," Draco said with a half smile that had Hermione melting.

"Don't do that," she whispered and playfully pushed him away with a small hand on his chest.

"Do what?" Draco asked, genuinely confused.

"Smile like that," Hermione said. "It practically turns me to jelly."

"Is that so?" Draco said mischievously and flashed her another dazzling smile.

"Merlin, I should never have told you that," she groaned. "I just flared your overly large ego, didn't I?"

Draco started laughing and rolled onto his back. "Nah, you just revealed something about yourself that I liked."

Hermione popped herself on one elbow and looked down on Draco. He had his hands casually behind his head and a lazy smile graced his rosy lips.

"No inflation of your ego?" she asked playfully. Her hair fell from behind her ears and splayed across Draco's face. Laughing he caught strands of it between his fingers and tucked gently on it.

"Not too much," he laughed.

"I guess I can live with that then," she laughed back at him and brought her lips to his. She kissed him with a slow indulgence that threatened to devour both of them.

As she pulled away from him, he was still wearing that trademark smirk of his that Hermione had grown to love. Just at that moment her stomach decided to ruin the moment and growl noisily.

"I'm guessing that you're hungry?" Draco laughed as he sat up in their bed. "Well, we didn't really get any dinner yesterday, did we?"

Hermione blushed at the thought of just _why_ they hadn't eaten. Draco had made a wonderful meal for her, but they had started a conversation about trust and their past, and that made them leave the food and go to bed instead. That was when Draco had conjured the bed they were now sitting on. That was the first night they had slept together – nothing sexual, but incredibly sensitive and romantic. She had never slept better than with his chest against her back and his arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

"Exactly, and we haven't had any breakfast either," she said and glanced at her watch. "And it's technically too late for that now."

"Then let's have brunch," Draco said and grinning pulled her out of the bed. He took her hand and led her to the kitchen. When they entered he ordered her into a chair and started making food for them both. Once again Hermione marvelled at just how perfect and comfortable he looked in the kitchen.

"You really enjoy this, don't you?" she asked wonderingly. She herself had never enjoyed cooking. She only liked going into the kitchen to get a chocolate bar from a cupboard. Other than that she tended to avoid kitchens. Draco turned around with a big bowl in his arms. It was full of pancake dough, which he was mixing with the other hand.

"Of course I do," he said. "I always enjoy making food for wonderful women."

Hermione blushed, but didn't let it affect her. "Who else do you like cooking for?"

"My mother," Draco said and didn't seem the least bit embarrassed to admit it.

"How nice," Hermione said and meant it. Draco didn't comment further but returned to his cooking. He pulled out a pan and placed in to the stove. When it was hot enough he put some of the dough into the pan and swirled it around to get a perfect pancake. Hermione had never seen anyone so graceful and she was positively drooling at the sight. When he turned around again he was smiling.

"Could you just watch this for a second?" he asked and Hermione willingly got up. Of course she had to stumble when her foot made contact with the leg of the table. Great, here she was with the most elegant and graceful man she knew and she was being as clumsy as ever. She blushed and looked down as she made her way to the stove. Draco kissed her cheek gently while chuckling lightly. "I'll be back before you can ruin anything."

"Yeah, you do that," Hermione said grimly and avoided his eyes. He was still chuckling as he left.

After a few minutes Hermione finished the pancake Draco had started. There was still no sign of him, so she started another one. When that one was finished as well she started getting slightly worried. Was something wrong, since he hadn't come back yet? Turning off the stove she left the kitchen to go search for him. He wasn't at their place, and the toilet wasn't occupied. Then there was only one place he could be. Careful not to make any noise Hermione made her way to the other end of the library, where the secret hatch was. And sure enough, she found Draco standing there, the hatch open and his back against her.

"Draco, you are getting on my nerves," came Lucius Malfoy's voice from inside the hatch. Hermione knew that he was talking to Draco through an enchanted two-way mirror.

"Be patient father," Draco said with boredom. "I'll get it done."

"I hope you're right about that, son," Lucius sneered. "You'll be wrecking our entire plan if you don't kill that nasty Mudblood."

Hermione almost gasped aloud at those crude words. They were spoken with such malice it was almost incomprehensible.

"Don't worry father," Draco said through gritted teeth. "Your plan is safe."

Hermione felt her heart beat violently against her ribcage. She couldn't fathom what she was hearing. Had Draco meant what he said just now? Or had he meant it when he said he loved her? Dimly she heard Draco say goodbye to his father, and she knew she should hide. But she was simply too devastated to move a single inch, so when Draco turned around they were face to face. He looked at her in shock.

"Hermione…" he whispered and she felt tears welling in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't come back," she whispered in reply. "I was worried about you. Now it seems that I should have worried for myself."

"No…" Draco said and took a step towards her. She held up a hand to stop him. He obliged. "Hermione, I need you to trust me when I say that I am not going to harm you. Not in any way."

"But you just said…" she said but trailed off. "Okay, I trust you."

Disbelief stood painted in Draco's face as he absorbed the meaning of her words.

"You do?" he said suspiciously. "Wow, hadn't expected that."

"I'm glad I can still surprise you," Hermione said with a small, lopsided grin. Draco came towards her again and this time she didn't stop him. As he stood right in front of her he spread his arms wide. Hermione halfway threw herself into his tight embrace.

"I want you to understand though," Draco whispered into her hair. "I have to lie to my father. I have to make him think that I'll kill you so he won't focus on us. So we can be alone and out of his mind. Do you get it?"

Hermione nodded. Of course, it made perfect sense. But something would be better, she figured.

"Why don't you just tell him you've done it?" she asked him.

"Then he'd call me home. Away from you. And he'd ask for proof to confirm my statement."

"What proof would he demand?"

"Knowing my father he wouldn't believe me unless I brought him your lifeless body."

Hermione shuddered at the thought.

"What is your plan?" she asked him, face pressed into his shirt. It smelled wonderful, just like him. Sort of spicy and musky, but there was a hint of sweetness that made the smell simply euphoric.

"I don't have one right at the moment," Draco confessed and Hermione stiffened.

"You don't have a plan?" she asked, tilting her head to look at his face. He sent er an apologizing smile.

"Not really, no."

"Merlin, we're in trouble then." Up until this moment Hermione had only considered Draco a threat. She hadn't even paused to think about Lucius and what he would do, if Draco didn't follow through on his orders. "You didn't have a plan when you trapped us in here?"

"No. I was just so focused on keeping you safe that I didn't think about anything else."

"Hmm…" Hermione racked her brain for ideas. "I suppose we could make it look like you killed me…" she mused aloud.

"How so?"

"Well, there's a Muggle drug that makes you seem dead," Hermione explained. "It's actually quite famous, it was used in…"

"Romeo and Juliet," Draco said, nodding along.

"You know Romeo and Juliet?" Hermione asked, astonished.

"Of course I do," Draco smiled at her. "Who doesn't? It's a classic. _I know not how to tell thee who I am. My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it's an enemy to thee._"

"Very fitting," Hermione laughed, hiding just how much Draco's hoarse, husky voice had affected her. The truth remained that had he not been holding her up, she didn't trust her knees to do it. Merlin, that man was definitely a walking seduction.

"True," Draco laughed and kissed her forehead. "So tell me more about your idea."

"Well, I'm sure that if Muggles can make a poison like that, Wizards must be able to do the same."

"That's my clever witch; I knew I could trust you to come with something good." Draco squeezed her tight and brushed another kiss to her forehead. "Now let's get that brunch."

They started walking towards the kitchen when a thought suddenly struck Hermione. She had been so consumed by her own dilemma that she had totally forgotten her best friend.

"Harry," she whispered and stopped dead. In front of her Draco went stiff and stopped as well. Slowly he turned around. She was standing as if defeated with her hands down her sides and tears welling in her eyes. "What about Harry?"

Draco took a deep breath before answering, "I'm sorry love."

A terrible sob tore through Hermione's chest at his words. She had been so focused on surviving that she had completely forgotten that she was only the bait. Harry was the real catch. And as long as she was locked up and safely hidden from Lucius, she couldn't warn him or help him. Her own safety and survival came with one expense – the death of her best friend.

_**Oh, beat you didn't see that one coming. Or something.**_

_**Hopefully you liked this chapter. If you did do as you always do – review. If you didn't – review anyway. I don't mind as long as you then go on my black list. OR my napkin whatever. Nah, just kidding!**_


	16. Sixth Night Alone

**Sixth Night Alone**

"Is he…" Hermione trailed off at the horrible question she was to ask. "Draco, please tell me… is he dead?"

"No."

The single word tore a sigh of relief from Hermione's chest. She hurled herself at Draco, who clutched her tightly to his chest. He ran a hand through her curls and breathed in the smell of her.

"Hermione," he murmured. "Hermione, just because he's alive now doesn't mean he'll stay that way."

She forcefully freed herself from his grip and took a step backwards.

"What do you mean?" she asked with incredulous eyes watching his face intently. "He won't stay alive?"

Draco took a step towards her, but Hermione held up a hand and stepped further back. "No, don't" she said, her eyes blazing with suppressed fury. "Just answer."

"My father is set on killing him."

Hermione felt herself starting to hyperventilate, but she managed to keep her cool. And even more surprising than that she managed to contain her immense anger.

"But he isn't dead yet," she stated.

"No, he's still very much alive." At those words Hermione saw a slight twitch in his jaw.

"Draco, do you want him dead?" she asked with big, surprised eyes. "I knew you hated him, but to wish him dead?"

Draco didn't answer her, but his eyes were harsh and his jaw was clenched. That was all the answer Hermione needed.

"I can't believe this," she said with a disbelieving, little laugh. She felt herself getting dizzy and raised a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes in the process. "You want to see my best friend dead."

"That's not the way it is," Draco denied and sounded a lot closer than before. Hermione opened her eyes and found that he had moved closer and was now standing less than a foot away from her. She tried to back away again, but was cut off by a bookshelf.

"Then how exactly is it?" she asked through gritted teeth. It was getting increasingly harder and harder to contain her anger.

Draco looked sullenly at her for a while; it was obvious that he too struggled to keep his temper down, before he answered her, "If I have to choose between the two of you, I chose you, Hermione."

"Oh, Merlin," she said and threw her hands in the air. "You think that if you saved my life I would instantly love you?!" The last part was spoken in a raised voice that was not yet a shout but as close as it gets. "You think that I would have you after you sacrificed my best friend?! My brother?!"

Now she was shouting in earnest, and that became Draco's undoing. He wasn't able to hold back either.

"I would think that you would show a little more gratitude!" he shouted back. "After all, I am risking my life to save yours!"

"Oh, and you think your life or even my life is more worth than Harry's?!" Hermione pushed past him, uncomfortable by being stuck between his hard chest and the even harder shelf behind her. He didn't try to keep her in place, but watched her with an angry glare.

"I didn't say that!" he defended himself.

"Maybe not, but you implied it!" Hermione answered and turned to face him again. "I can't believe that you deluded yourself into thinking that I would be grateful to you after you purposely let my best friend die!"

"I had no other choice!"

"But you could have given me one!" Hermione threw back at him. "Instead of locking me away and depriving me of everything."

At those words Draco seemed to calm down a little. He looked tired and stroked his tiresome eyes with the back of his hand.

"Hermione, really," he said with a sudden weakness that made Hermione feel strangely guilty. "Honestly, would you have believed me if I told you, that my father was going to kidnap you in order to get to Potter?"

Then Hermione realized that she had talked herself into a corner. Of course she wouldn't have believed him. She would have thought him threatening her and Harry. But never would she have believed him. She calmed down as well and also felt the tiredness seep through her bones.

"Then what do we do?" she asked him with no hope at all. "We can't just let him die._ I_ can't just let him die. He's my best friend, Draco. Just like a brother to me. I can't live on knowing that he died because of me."

"I don't see that there's anything we can do," Draco said and slumped to the floor. Hermione followed him, sitting cross legged in front of him.

"We could warn him," Hermione suggested, but Draco fiercely shook his head.

"And risk your life? No, I won't be a part of that."

Hermione scooped closer to him and took his hand. She cupped it gently in hers and placed their combined hands in her lap.

"You don't have to be a part of it," she whispered and with her free hand brushed away a platinum blond strand of hair from his gorgeous face. "Just give me the freedom to contact him. Let me take control of my own life and save my friend."

Draco sighed and closed his eyes.

"I can't do that, Hermione," he whispered back. "I love you. I can't stand by and watch you jeopardize your life."

"And I can't stand by and know that when I did nothing I killed my friend."

Draco opened his eyes to look straight into hers. The weakness in his gaze stunned her momentarily but she quickly regained her strength with thoughts of Harry.

"You would not be to blame for his death," he whispered. "It is my father that would have all the blame. Never you."

"I would be just as much at blame as he would. If I knew and did not warn him I would share the blame."

"Hermione, you can't measure blame."

She turned her face away from his to hide her tears. "I measure blame the same way you measure loyalty. You can have a little here and a little there, but never everything in one place."

As soon as she had spoken the words, she knew they had been low and uncalled for, but she was just so hurt that it didn't matter to her. Obviously it mattered greatly to Draco. He quickly snatched his hand from hers and bolted upright. Hermione remained on the floor and didn't look at him. She was both embarrassed and hurt and didn't want him to see either.

"So that's how you think of me?" he asked in a strangled voice – he was clearly fighting back tears of rage. Or perhaps they were of hurt. "Haven't you realized that my loyalty lies with you and no one else? Hermione, I defied my own father to save your life even if it meant the end of mine. And you dare say that my loyalty is divided? Maybe it once was, I won't deny that. But for the last many months you've owned me more than anything or anyone else."

He paused and breathed heavily. Hermione dared to turn her face slightly and watch him. He was so tall it made her neck hurt. He was standing straighter than ever, glancing down at her with his arms hanging without purposely down his sides. He looked so lost and hurt that Hermione's tears started flowing again. When he saw her tears he seemed to soften up again. He knelt down in front of her and brushed them away with a calloused thumb.

"Don't cry, love," he whispered. "I hate to see you cry. I know I've been the cause of that too many times. And I hate every single time that has happened. Please don't cry."

"I can't help it," Hermione sobbed. "I just feel so helpless. And that is the worst feeling I've ever had."

Draco sighed and cupped her face in both his hands.

"What can I do to make you feel better?"

His stomach fluttered when he was rewarded with a happy smile.

"Let me contact Harry," she said. Before Draco could protest, as he was definitely about to do, Hermione continued, "I won't tell him anything he doesn't need to know. I won't tell him where I am. I won't tell him about you. And I won't tell him how I know. He'll trust me no matter what."

Draco seriously considered giving in to her pleads. She was so hard for him to resist.

"And what if he starts asking questions?" Draco asked. "Will you give in and answer him."

"No," Hermione's answer came instantly. "I'll just say that I'll tell him when the time is right."

"And then you'll tell him everything?" Draco sounded doubtful. Determined to show her sincerity she placed her hands on top of his and laced her fingers with his. She gave him a comforting smile.

"I keep no secrets from Harry," she said genuinely. "Especially not when it's something important. And joyous."

Draco rewarded her with a smile only she had ever experienced. It was like watching a child on Christmas Morning unwrapping that present he had whished for all year. Expect that Draco was far from a child and she was the present he had wanted for so long. And she had just given himself to him. Without even thinking about. And without regretting it.

Draco leaned forward and let his lips gently grace hers. She responded immediately, moving her soft lips against his in the tenderest caress either of them had ever known. Her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned into his deep-felt kiss. When he drew back, her eyes remained closed and she treasured the lingering feel of his lips.

"Okay," he whispered and stroked her cheek. "You can contact him."

Hermione instantly opened her eyes to see for herself if he was telling the truth. She saw no lie in his face, only concern and uncertainty.

"I won't endanger myself or you," she promised.

"I don't think that you would on purpose," he answered. "But you might have a slip of the tongue. I am really scared for you."

"Don't be," she said, flashing him a brilliant smile. When he hesitantly returned it, she threw her arms around his neck with a happy laugh. He fell backwards and she was pulled down with him lying sprawled on his chest. "Thank you," she said and kissed his smooth cheek. "Thank you so much."

Draco laughed as well, but his laugh was as hesitantly as his smile had been.

"Then where do we stand now?" he asked, running his hands through Hermione's hair making it fan out over his chest. She put her hear to his heart and listened as entranced.

"What do you mean?"

"About that whole Draught of Living Dead?"

"That was the name! Merlin I can't believe I forgot that!"

Draco laughed, more genuinely than before, and Hermione loved the feeling of it.

"You've had a lot on your mind," he said and started massaging her head.

"So have you," Hermione said, feeling doubt rising in her chest. Had he known all along?

"Not as much as you have," he said and continued rubbing her scalp gently. "I have, after all, been the one on top all along."

Hermione turned her head and smiled wickedly.

"Well, not anymore," she said huskily and ran her palms down Draco sides. She watched as his eyes turned darker in lust, and just then she dug her fingernails into his stomach and tickled him. He instantly started squirming beneath her and laughed uncontrollably.

After a few seconds he managed to gather himself so much that he had the strength to roll them over so that he was suddenly in charge. He sent her a mischievous smile before he ran a long, slender finger over the exposed skin of her stomach. She felt her skin contract at his touch and butterflies fought to free themselves from the prison of her stomach. His movements were teasingly slow and he didn't break eye contact before he reached her navel. As he dipped his finger into it he shifted his gaze from her eyes to her belly. Before she had the chance to stop him, he leaned down and kissed her naked skin. Hermione gasped in surprise and pleasure. Draco grinned into her skin as he kissed her again. And then one more time. When his lips reached her navel he removed his finger and replaced it with his tongue. Hermione squirmed and nearly squealed. Draco chuckled and licked again. Then he moved down further, trailing his tongue over her flushed skin. When he reached the waistband of her trousers he paused and looked up at her. Her face was flustered and her mouth was open. She licked her lips, almost sending Draco straight to heaven and beyond, and then she nodded her consent.

Again Draco chuckled as he teasingly slowly lowered the button and the fly of her trousers. He opened them and revealed a pair of green cotton panties. He growled deep in his throat and kissed the fabric. Hermione gasped loudly and squirmed yet again. Ever so slowly Draco eased down her pants. Hermione raised her hips to assist him and then the pants were all gone. He was down at her feet and started trailing scorching kisses along the insides of her legs; from her ankle up her calf, past her knee and across the thigh. When he finally reached the place that longed for him the most, he found her extremely wet. He inhaled the sweet fragrance of her and blew lightly onto her wet core, making her entire body shiver. Finally he decided that the teasing was over. With a crooked finger he pushed the green fabric out of his way and took in the beauty of her most intimate place – a place that he would cherish for ever if only she would let him.

With a tremble of his own his tongue made contact with her barred flesh. This time Hermione could not conceal her squeal and Draco took pride in being the one making her utter it. Time and time again he let his tongue flicker over her bundle of sensitive nerves. Hermione was moaning loudly, and her hands were in his hair, pressing him closer, urging him to go further, claiming him for hers. When he sensed that she was close, he gently pushed a finger halfway into her core and felt her clamp down on the long digit. He gently withdrew the finger and pushed it back inside until he hit her barrier. He had a feeling that she might be a virgin, and now he had his confirmation. And yet it didn't matter to him. Normally he liked his girls experienced, but with her it didn't matter the least bit. Normally he was rough and selfish, but with her he was gentle, caring and giving. Hermione had touched him in so many ways that Draco felt the need to repay her – in every and any way he could.

He pumped his finger back and forth and continued lapping at her clit until she finally climaxed with his name on her beautiful, plump lips. He kept on licking until she came down from her high. He then withdrew his hand and sucked off her juices, cherishing her delicious taste, so much sweeter than any other he had tasted. He would be content if only he could taste her and nothing else.

Hermione lay exhausted and breathing heavily. Draco moved up besides her and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. Her only response was to smile at him, her eyes still closed, and Draco felt his heart soar. Gently he wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her to him, cradling her in his arms.

"You haven't tried that before, have you?" Draco asked teasingly. Hermione's only response was to shake her head.

"You taste good," Draco whispered in her ear. He was pleased to see a blush forming on her cheeks but she quickly hid it behind her hands. Draco chuckled and kissed her neck. Just then his stomach rumbled. "That reminds me, we haven't eaten in more than a day."

He got to his feet and gathered Hermione's clothes. He gave them to her and even had the courtesy to turn around while she dressed. When she was done she wrapped her arms around him from behind and placed her check on his back.

"Thank you," she whispered gently. "For being so sweet and wonderful."

_**Another chapter. With a little smut – hope you don't mind. Merlin, now I have to change the rating. Huh, guess that doesn't really matter, does it?**_

_**As always, tell me your thoughts. And just for this once I'll give you mine in return… let's see, I'm thinking, cookie, cake, pancake and liquorish!**_


	17. Sixth Night Alone Part 2

**Sixth Night Alone Part 2**

"You're not so bad yourself either," Draco laughed and gently patted her hands lying on his stomach.

Hermione joined in on his laugh and released her hold on Draco's waist to walk beside him.

"You're making the food?" she asked and sent him an adoring glace.

"Sure am," he answered and smiled back at her.

Hermione halted at those words. Draco did the same a few steps later and looked back at her over his shoulder.

"You coming?" he asked confused. Hermione shook her head.

"You go ahead and start cooking," she said. "I'll find start making that Draught of Living Death Potion. It's going to take awhile before it's done, so I might as well start now."

Draco laughed while shaking his head, making strands of blonde hair fall in front of his stormy, grey eyes.

"How could I expect anything else from Hermione Granger?" he mused aloud to himself. "I give you the orgasm of your life and you can't wait to go to work."

Hermione blushed and laughed a little nervously.

"Yeah," she murmured guiltily. "Do you mind?"

"Absolutely not," he grinned, took her hand and pressed a tender kiss to the palm. "You go save your life by killing yourself. So to speak." He winked and sent her a teasing smirk. Hermione simply couldn't contain an outburst of laughs. She tumbled forward and right into Draco's waiting arms, laughing herself hoarse.

"I'll do that," she gasped and tilted her head to look at Draco. He was fighting hard to contain his own laughs. He bent forward and gave her a chaste kiss. When his lips left hers, Hermione savoured the aftermath with closed eyes and a little smile. Draco chuckled and gave her one last squeeze before going alone to the library. When Hermione could no longer hear his footsteps, she sighed and went to their corner.

She was set on trusting Draco, no matter how difficult and stupid it seemed. The way she saw it, she really didn't have any other choice. He had utter control over her. And who was to say that his proclaimed feelings weren't real? As far as she had seen, his feelings were genuine. Of course Hermione was by no means an expert on the field, having only been with Ron for little more than a month, but she still felt that Draco was honest with her. She didn't detect lies when he said how he felt for her, and to top it off, when he had said he loved her, her stomach had flipped. She had felt something as well. Perhaps she didn't quite love him yet, but there was definitely something there. A tingling whenever he looked at her, a twirl in her stomach when he touched her, a shortage of breath when he kissed her and souring whenever he did anything else.

Just thinking about what he had just done to her made her wet again. Ron had never done that to her. Sure, he had tried, Hermione had to give him that, but she had just felt so uncomfortable, shy and awkward that she had had to ask him to stop. With Draco it had been completely different. She hadn't felt the least bit uncomfortable, the exact opposite in fact. He had made her feel better than ever before. She hadn't felt shy or self-conscious, since it had been quite clear that Draco worshipped her body. Again Hermione felt her knickers get moist as she remembered the way he had made love to every part of her body. He definitely hadn't felt awkward!

Reaching their corner she crouched down in front of her suitcase and pulled out her Advanced Potions book and her Potions set, complete with ingredients and a cauldron. Quickly she leafed through the book and found the potion she needed. She read the instructions. And then once more. And once again. then she sighed and snapped the book shut. Groaning angrily she got to her feet and started packing again.

"Stupid potion," she mumbled as she out the cauldron away. "Freakishly annoying not-so-dead-death!"

"Who are you mumbling to?" Draco's amused voice came from behind her. She spun around to face him. He was leaning casually against a bookshelf with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked so damn sexy that she couldn't refrain from licking her lips and giving him a hot once over. Draco chuckled as he saw her reaction and started flexing random muscles. Hermione grinned at his display of strength and handsomeness. She slowly walked towards him, all thought of evil potions forgotten, and extended her hand to place it on his bicep. He flexed it and Hermione felt a jolt of excitement go through her at the hardness underneath her small hand. She moved her hand extremely slow from his bicep to his shoulder. As her hand went along Draco flexed the muscles she was touching. From his shoulder she went to his abs. She was not the least bit surprised to find them hard and lean. Again he flexed under her touch but there was something else there, barely detectable but there none the less; a shiver. A delicious, warming shiver. Hermione looked up at Draco from beneath her eyelashes, sending him what she hoped was a flirtatious, heated look. Draco's eyes were smouldering black as he returned the stare.

Clearing his throat he lightly shook his head.

"You were saying something about the potion?" he said with a sinfully husky voice that made Hermione's toes curl.

"It's not going to work," she answered with a sigh. "It'll take too long to make. We can't do it."

"How long is 'too long'?"

"A week. I'm guessing that's too long."

Draco's head dropped and hid his face from her.

"You're right, that's too long. Merlin, if only I'd had this idea right from the beginning!"

Comfortingly Hermione grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer.

"I don't regret anything that's happened in here," she whispered.

"Not even spitting me in the face?" Draco asked, lifting his head a little to send her a smirk which she returned.

"No, not even then. I think I was entitled to a saliva attack."

"I can think of a different type of 'saliva attack'."

With those words he grabbed the back of her head and his lips came crashing down upon hers. She was pressed closer to him, their lips moving together, their breaths mingling and driving both insane with lust and desire. But Hermione sensed something else. It wasn't just a wanting she felt in her stomach or from Draco's burning lips. The kiss was seared with something more. A deeper connection that stunned her momentarily, causing Draco to draw back instantly.

"Is something wrong?" he asked with concern.

Flashing him a grand smile she shook her head.

"I just realised something," she said.

"And that is?"

"I might possibly be in love with you."

At first Draco didn't react in any way, but not before long comprehension dawned on his face and he bent down to wrap his strong arms around er slender waist and lift her into the air, laughing and spinning her around. Hermione couldn't help but join in on his laugh and threw her head back in joy, her curls flowing around her head.

When they were still again, Draco still had her elevated and made no move to put her down any time soon. He was looking her deep in the eyes, deep into her soul, touching all kinds of buttons that she didn't even knew existed.

"You don't know how happy you make me," he whispered sincerely.

"I think I have an idea," she whispered back and placed a shy hand over his heart, and just as she had hoped it was beating frantically.

"Love, that's only a fraction," he said with the sexiest smirk ever, making her tremble delightfully. "Now, let's have some food."

"Merlin, I'm starving!"

Chuckling Draco took a hold of Hermione's legs and gently wrapped them around his waist. Then he started walking towards the kitchen carrying Hermione all the way.

He sat down on a chair with Hermione in his lap. Grinning he brought a fork to her mouth and she opened up and took it in. She didn't really taste the food, didn't know what it was, only registered that she liked it. She was too busy being fed and watching Draco eat. Everything else seemed to disappear and mean less and less with every passing minute. Suddenly the feeding stopped and Hermione felt completely full and sated.

"Good?" Draco asked, the only word spoken during their meal. Hermione nodded and bent down to give him a chaste kiss, but before she had the chance to pull back, Draco was holding her in place and kissing her back fiercely. As the kiss intensified Hermione felt Draco's hands wander from her hair down her neck to her shoulders and then down her back. Bolts of burning electricity shot through her every fibre, sending tingles all over her very alert body. Absentmindedly she started undoing the buttons on Draco's shirt one by one, letting her fingers caress every inch of bared flesh. Draco broke away from the kiss and trailed a hot line with his lips from the corner of her mouth and down her throat, suckling passionately at the tender skin. Hermione gasped in pleasure and Draco chuckled against her creamy skin.

Finally Hermione had Draco's shirt all the way open and she quickly pushed it down his shoulders, running her hands over his absolutely perfectly sculptured chest. She moaned at the feel of him, but it wasn't enough. She drew back a little to watch his chiselled torso. It was the most beautiful upper body she had ever seen. It wasn't too worked but it wasn't sloppy either.

'_Just right,'_ she thought, feeling like Goldilocks.

"What are you thinking?" Draco asked in a low, husky voice. Hermione blushed.

"Nothing of importance," she lied and smiled sheepishly.

"I don't believe you," he laughed softly. "Not when colour rises in your cheeks like that."

"Fine," she caved in. "I was just thinking about how perfect your body is. Happy?"

"Extremely," he whispered softly and kissed her nose lovingly. Without warning he was suddenly standing. With a strangled yelp Hermione held onto him for dear life, clamping her arms around his neck and her legs around his slim waist. Before she knew it she was on her back in their bed with him lying on top of her, resting on his elbows. In the dimmed light Draco seemed to shine with a light all of his own. And in that moment Hermione realised what she wanted – what she really needed.

"I want you," she whispered and reached up to stroke his cheek. He turned his head slightly and kissed her palm.

"You have me," he whispered back.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about."

"I know, I just want to make sure that _you're_ sure. I mean, we're talking about sex here. It's a big deal."

Hermione frowned at that.

"I was under the impression that we were talking about making love."

"Okay, then we'll do that first and then have sex afterwards."

Again Hermione flushed deep red, but couldn't help feeling aroused at his words.

"Great," was all she could mutter and Draco laughed while kissing her.

"And you're sure?" he asked again while he studied her face intently.

"Completely."

With those words she raised her head from the bed and kissed him sweetly. Draco instantly responded and let his fingers wander over her chest. Without delay he pulled her shirt of, breaking the kiss for only a couple of seconds, and then his fingers were back on her now naked skin. He moved slowly, caressingly over her flat stomach and inched higher and higher till he made contact with her bra. Her hard nipples poked through the fabric of the bra and he softly twisted them between his fingers. A moan escaped Hermione but was quickly captured by Draco's awaiting mouth.

Leaving her mouth Draco moved down her body and took a fabric clad nipple into his mouth. Hermione arched her back and laced her fingers in his hair pulling him closer. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, _who_ she was about to do, but still it didn't stop her, because she _wanted_ it. The thing she had never ever wanted from Ron, she wanted from this man – her nemesis, her archenemy. Deciding that it was all moving to slow, she lifted a little from the bed, reached behind herself and unclasped her bra. Draco was quick to read her signs and pulled the bra away from her, taking her bared nipple into his hot mouth, lashing it with his tongue, making it even harder.

While his mouth was working her nipples one by one and then again, his fingers were moving down her body to the edge of her trousers. He opened the button and fly and pulled them off immediately. But before he could work on her knickers, she gently pushed him away. He looked slightly confused, but when she started fingering with his pants, he realised what she wanted to do. Relaxed he leaned back and let her do what she wanted. After sending him one last look, she bend down over him and placed her mouth on his chest, kissing her way down to his trousers. Soon enough Draco was breathing heavily and the tight pants felt like a prison. Hesitating for only a few seconds she opened his pants and pulled them off along with his boxers. His erection sprang into view, thick, long and throbbing. Hermione couldn't suppress a moan as she imagined it inside her. On one hand it was unsettling and quite scary but on the other it was extremely arousing and joyous. Tryingly she wrapped her small hand around it and found it hard. Being with Ron was nothing like this, it was easy to say.

Afraid of being to over analytic she tried to let go and let her instincts take over. She moved her hand up and down very slowly, squeezing very lightly when she reached his hilt. He drew in a sharp breath and growled. Hermione was completely absorbed by his cock and didn't have the time to see anything else. She ran her hand up and down a little more before deciding to take it further. She leaned over and teasingly kissed the tip. Again Draco gasped and squirmed. Then she opened her mouth and took as much as she could of him into her. She didn't really get the time to get used to it, before Draco had pushed her off with an animalistic sound deep in his throat. Hermione was completely overwhelmed by his lost as passion as he ripped her knickers off, tearing them apart. She didn't have time to grieve though before his tongue was lashing at her clit.

"Draco!" she moaned, and fisted her hands in his hair. He growled again and worked even harder to bring her on the brink of orgasm. Just as she felt herself getting close, he pulled away and looked at her.

"Do you want it?" he asked, hunger shining from every feature in his face. Hermione nodded, biting her lip in anticipation. "Tell me."

"I want you, Draco. All of you. I want you to make love to me."

He smiled like the sexgod he was before placing himself at her entrance. She closed her eyes, making ready for the pain she knew was to come, but Draco wouldn't have that.

"Look at me," he whispered, while rubbing his cock against her core, stroking her most intimately. Hermione complied and opened her eyes, locking his with hers. He kissed her quickly, still looking her in the eyes, and then entered her in one, swift stroke. Hermione groaned in pain and arched her back against him. Though it was hard Draco remained perfectly still within her, careful not to hurt her further. "Are you okay?"

"Just give me a second."

"That's fine. Just tell me whenever you're ready for more."

He stroked her hair and looked adoringly at her, smiling at her and kissing her nose, forehead, cheeks and lips. After a couple of minutes, he felt Hermione squirm beneath him, and he knew she was ready for more. Slowly he pulled almost all the way out of her before entering her again with a slow, unrushed thrust. She moaned loudly and he repeated the treatment over and over again. Not before long she felt herself getting close again. Draco sensed it too and reached between them to massage her clit.

"Oh!" she moaned and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, holding on like he was everything she had in this world. "Draco!"

"How close are you, Hermione?" Draco whispered with a strained voice. He was desperately holding back his own release wanting her to find it first.

"So close," she panted and dug her fingers into his back.

When Draco then twisted her clit between two fingers she couldn't hold it in any longer. She screamed his name as she came, her walls clamping down on his hard member, making him lose it as well. Moaning her name loudly he came and fell on top of her, still buried inside her. They were both panting and sweating, but neither had ever felt better.

"So that was love making," Draco gasped. "Next up: sex."

He rolled onto his back with a deep laugh, making Hermione lay on top of him.

"Don't you ever get enough?" Hermione laughed.

"With you – never. I could never get enough of you."

_**So, another chapter with a lot of smut and no plot really. The computer is now running low on battery and I'm running low on open eyes, so there'll be so grammatical correction of this chapter. Hopefully you'll excuse me and just enjoy the read. **_


	18. Sixth Morning Alone

**Sixth Morning Alone**

He woke up the next morning with a burning sensation around his right wrist. He instantly knew what had happened – Hermione had cast a spell. And not just any spell. It was a Patronus. Quickly he shed himself of the sheets and jumped out of bed. Hastily he pulled on a pair of boxers and started a search for Hermione.

Of course he found her the very last place he searched; in the ladies room. With the door locked. Leaning against the doorframe he knocked on the door.

"Hermione," he said loudly. "Hermione, let me in."

No sound came from in there. He sighed and knocked again.

"Hermione, please let me in. I know what you're doing."

Still she didn't utter a sound.

"Don't make me blast this door down!"

Just then the lock turned and Hermione opened the door with a look of rage on her face. Her hair was tussled and wild, just how Draco liked it best. But the murderous look in her eyes he didn't like.

"What?" he asked innocently. She didn't answer, just pushed him aside with an aggravated groan and walked past him. "Hermione, please!"

That stopped her dead in her tracks. Turning on her heel she faced him with a clenched jaw and fisted hands.

"Don't you 'please' me, Draco Malfoy!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Why not, you seemed to like it last night," he teased her, but instantly knew he'd done the wrong thing. Her eyes blazed dangerously and her cheeks turned flaming red.

"Don't try to me cute with me!" she yelled so loudly that Draco was actually afraid she was going to hurt him. "I just talked to my best friend and guess what he told me!" She took a step towards him before continuing. "He was on his way to you father – _your father!_ – to get him to release me! Apparently your father told him, that if he gave up himself, he would let me go!"

Draco reached out to her to calm her down, but she swatted his hand away before he could touch her.

"Just don't!" she said warningly. "Tell me something though; if I hadn't snuck away to contact him, would have been too late?"

He saw hurt in her eyes, and wanted nothing more than to pull her to him and hug her tightly. But he also knew that that would be a big mistake. She wasn't in the need of being consoled just now. Now she needed the truth.

"I honestly don't know," he answered. "I can't tell you what my father does every minute of every day, Hermione."

She huffed but couldn't deny his logic.

"Then answer me this: where you really going to let me contact him?"

Now it was Draco's turn to get hurt. And upset. He felt betrayed. But then again, had he really expected her to trust him completely? She might say that she trusted him, but wasn't that just a choice she had made? Choosing to trust someone isn't exactly the same as actually trusting that person. So he really shouldn't be surprised by this. And yet he was. Over the last couple of days he had felt a much deeper connection with her. He had felt himself falling deeper and deeper in love with her as she opened herself to him and him to her. And now she made a complete 180. Infuriating. And yet he managed to restrain himself and keep his hurt under lock.

"Of course I was going to let you talk to him," he said sweetly, hoping to make her see reason. "No matter how little I like Potter, I won't lie to you I really don't like him, I like _you_ a lot. Meaning that I'd never do anything to hurt, directly or indirectly."

Her eyes narrowed as she watched him intently. Then suddenly she closed her eyes, sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know," she whispered and stepped back, away from him. "I really don't know if I trust you."

Her words made his heart clench in pain. He felt tears sting behind his eyes. He reached out to her again, wanting to make her believe in him, but more than anything wanting her comfort, but she pulled away.

"I can't," she whispered. As she looked at him again he saw tears in her eyes as well. "Not now. I… I can't."

With those words she spun around and ran away from him. He started following her, but soon he couldn't see for tears and had to stop running before he hurt himself. Feeling completely hopeless he fell to his knees. As tears ran over his cheeks he sobbed pathetically, moaning for Hermione to come back. But she didn't come. He felt like she was forever lost to him. The only thing he really wanted, the only thing that could save him. He couldn't have her and now it was slowly, painfully killing him. Sliding to the floor he balled up and let the tears flow freely. Never before had he felt so miserable. And the strange part was that he hadn't really _lost_ something. She had never been his to lose. And yet he felt her absence like a painful, throbbing whole in his chest.

As he started to regain his composure he got off from the floor and dried his eyes and cheeks. He was still sobbing slightly as he started walking towards their corner. He wanted a closure. If he couldn't have her, he needed to give a proper goodbye. He dreaded what was to come, but knew he would remain only a fraction of himself if he didn't do it. His heart grew heavier and heavier with ever step towards her he took. Images of their time together popped to his attention.

Her sitting curled up in her chair with a book, candlelight illuminating her soft, angelic features.

The first time she had truly looked at him. When she had seen _him_ and not his name or his father. It had made his heart soar far above any cloud.

When her lips had first touched his. The way her body had moulded against his, fitting his every curve. How her lips had been demanding, hot and yet sweet against his.

How he had fed her. How she had comforted him as he cried. How she had climaxed and screamed in his arms.

And now it was all to be over. He was never to kiss her again, never to have her pressed against him, never to hold her and stroke her hair, never to be inside of her again and make her scream in delight. It was too much to stand. His breath got stuck in his throat and he had to pause to catch his breath before continuing. Suddenly he heard a loud crack. He knew that sound. And it could only mean one thing.

Serious trouble.

Without a second thought he started running to where he hoped Hermione would be. He heart was thudding loudly in his ears and against his chest. Fear made him heave for breath and his nostrils flare.

Turning the corner to their place he felt a tremendous relief as he saw Hermione standing bent over her suitcase. He only took a second to admire her lean, beautiful body before he ran to her and gathered her in his arms.

He pressed her against his body even though she fought him, tried to push him away. He held her close, almost crushing her.

"Draco," she wheezed as she felt herself getting strangled. "Get off of me!"

He softened his hold on her, but didn't release her.

"Shh," he shushed her. "Speak softly."

"What are you doing?!" she hissed angrily and tried to free herself, but Draco's hold didn't bulge.

"Didn't you hear?" he asked her, and she stopped struggling to listen.

"Hear what?" she whispered, duplicating Draco's hushed speaking.

"The cracking noise."

"Oh," she said in relief. "Sure, I heard that. I just figured you'd broken something. Sound like something you'd do, anyway."

Draco stifled a laugh – it _did_ seem like him. But wasn't what the noise had been. He forced himself to look sternly into her brown globes.

"That wasn't me," he whispered and watched as her eyes widened slightly.

"Then who was it?"

"Merlin, Hermione I thought you'd recognize a house elf apparition when you heard it."

Instantly Hermione tensed in his arms and moved closer to him.

"What do you mean?" she whispered against his bare chest.

"I mean that trouble has found us," he whispered and stroked her hair. Even though he knew they were in mortal danger he couldn't help but revelling in the feeling of her against him. She wasn't wearing anything else than panties and an over-sized buttoned down shirt. She looked damned sexy, but now was not the time to focus on those things.

Hermione instantly caught onto his meaning.

"You mean you're father's here?" fear laced through her every word. But as Draco looked down at her, he couldn't see it in her face. He saw courage and sheer determination in her eyes and her mouth was set on fighting. She might be scared, but she chose not to give into it. Just then he knew that he truly, madly loved her. She was everything he could ever want, ever need. He nodded.

"What do we do now then?" she said and straightened up further.

He glanced down her body and noticed that didn't have her wand. But worse than that, he didn't have his. All of a sudden he felt naked and vulnerable without it. He glanced around the room to find it. There it was, on the floor on the other side of the bed. He was just about to release Hermione to go get it, when he felt her grip tighten on his arms. Standing perfectly still he listened – there were footsteps. Coming their way. He tensed every muscle in his body, ready to fight. Ready to protect Hermione from anything his father might do to her. He shifted her in his arms to she was partly behind him and protected by his body.

Just then Lucius' voice sounded in the room, "Draco, my son." The tone was pure poison dripping with deadly acid. "Draco, I'm very disappointed in you."

The footsteps came closer. Slowly Lucius Malfoy came around the corner and stopped dead when he saw his son hugging his mortal enemy. Draco felt himself stiffen as his father let a deadly stare rake over them.

"Draco," Lucius said again with an angry curl of his thin lips. "What are you doing, boy?"

Draco tried to shift Hermione in his arms again, to get her completely out of the way, but she refused to move.

"I'm doing what I was raised to do," Draco answered bravely. He felt far from brave, but there was a feral, primal need inside of him to protect Hermione. To keep her safe. Even if it meant putting himself in danger. He would be strong for her if not for himself.

"I never raised you to betray your family!" Lucius snapped furiously. "You were raised to be a Pureblood Wizard! Not a Blood Traitor!"

"You can call me what you want," Draco shot back at his father. "I am doing my duty as a Malfoy as we speak."

Lucius' face turned deep read as he fought to remain in control of his anger. Spit flew from his lips as he yelled, "You're duty as a Malfoy was to kill her!"

"That's not what you told me when I was younger!" Draco shouted back. "You told me to always take what I wanted! You said that my duty was to take and posses. Well, look at me now father; I'm taking what I want! And there's no way on Earth you'll be able to prevent it!"

Those words made Lucius' control slip. His motion was almost invisible as he pulled his wand and pointed it at Draco.

As he yelled _Crucio_ Draco spun around to his back was to his father and his entire body was covering Hermione. The blast his him square in the back and send him to the floor. Above him he heard Hermione scream as he fell. He couldn't see what was happening, but somehow Hermione had gotten a hold of her wand and was shouting curses at his father, who was returning them. He was in deep pain, but he couldn't just fold over and give up. He had to save Hermione. She was the only good thing he had ever known and he had to save her. Pretending to faint he fell completely to the floor and rolled over to the other side of the bed to get a hold of his wand. With it in his right hand he sprang to his feet to see the love of his life and his father duelling violently. Hermione was bleeding from a vicious cut on her lip, but he was pleased to see that Lucius wasn't the only one who had drawn blood. He was dripping from a nasty blow to the head.

Without giving the situation any further thought he pointed his wand at his father and thick ropes started forming around his leg to tie him down. As Lucius was momentarily startled by the turn of events Hermione had the time to attempt an _Expelliarmus _but Lucius caught onto her before she could finish. He shielded the charm and Hermione wand flew out of her hand. Before she could retrieve it he hit her in the stomach with the cruciatis curse. She tumbled to the floor, holding her hands to her stomach and screaming in agony. Draco instantly lost his concentration as he stormed to Hermione and the ropes he had been conjuring fell away. He knelt beside Hermione to take her head in his hands. Her eyes were hooded with intense pain and her face was distorted.

"Give it up son," Lucius' voice came from above. Draco looked up to see his father standing above him with his wand pointed at both of them. "If you kill her now, I'll forgive you and take you back."

No way in Hell was Draco giving in to this. He spat and hit his father on the cheek. He flinched, but then his expression turned to one of profound anger.

"Fine," he hissed. "Soothe yourself. If you want to die like a dog next to a Mudblood then be it."

"No," Draco hissed back. "I'll like a hero protecting the woman I love."

Hermione whimpered at those words and he returned to stroke her cheeks.

"Shh," he whispered. "I love you."

Above them Lucius laughed darkly. He raised his wand and opened his mouth to speak the incantation for the killing curse when a loud crack suddenly sounded right next to him. Lucius stopped and turned his head just in time to see a fist make contact with his jaw. He tumbled backwards before another blow hit him.

"You get away from my best friend!" Harry yelled as he went to strike Lucius again. But this time Lucius was ready. He caught Harry's fist and pulled him towards his own. As Lucius' fist hit Harry nose, Draco saw his opportunity. Extending his leg he kicked his father hard, making him fall down onto his stomach. His wand flew from his hand, which Harry picked up as Draco used his own to tie Lucius up. Properly this time.

Hermione stirred on the floor and sat up to watch the two enemies kind of help each other. Lucius was out cold, and she couldn't resist the urge to spit on him as she staggered to her feet. Instantly both Harry and Draco were at her side, holding onto her to sturdy her.

"I'm fine," she whispered. They didn't listen. "Really, I'm fine."

Hesitantly they let her go and stepped away from her. She looked from the one to the other. They were bloody and ruffled up and yet they were more gorgeous than ever before.

"Oh guys," she whispered and smiled. "Harry, I'm so glad you're okay."

He returned her smile and hugged her gingerly.

"Same to you," he whispered and patted her back. Clearing his throat he stepped away and blushed.

"What?" Hermione asked and tried to get him to look at her. He avoided her attempts and kept his gaze averted. Then Draco caught onto his embarrassment.

"Hermione, don't think your friend likes seeing you in panties and a shirt," he laughed and Hermione blushed as well. "Especially not when you're wearing my shirt."

Both Harry and Hermione blushed deeper. Draco stepped closer to her and cradled her in his arms.

"I love seeing you in panties and my shirt," he whispered sensually in her ear. Harry groaned in disgust and Draco laughed. "Thanks for the help scar-head. I may not like you, but Hermione does and you did help us."

"Yeah well," Harry said embarrassed "she _is_ my best friend."

Hermione offered him a little smile and pressed herself closer to Draco's chest.

"You're my best friend too," she said sincerely.

Harry looked from Hermione to Draco with a huge question on his face.

"He makes you happy?" he asked Hermione bluntly after a few seconds.

Hermione shifted slightly in Draco's arms to look into his eyes and nod while saying, "Yeah, he does."

Feeling like the ruler of the world, Draco grinned widely, bent down and captured her lips with his for a hungry, passionate kiss.

When they didn't seem to want to stop kiss in the nearest future, Harry cleared his throat and said, "So, I'll just go."

Consumed by their kiss, Hermione only had the strength to lift her arm to wave goodbye to him. Sighing heavily Harry grabbed Lucius by the ropes and summoned Kreacher to take him to the Order.

When they were left alone Draco and Hermione finally drew apart, panting.

"I feel kind of bad," Hermione said and chewed on her bottom lip, which was still bloody. Draco reached out and brushed the blood of with his thumb.

"Why?" he asked, transfixed by her lips.

"He helped us, saved our lives, and we didn't even say goodbye properly."

Draco laughed and started leading her to the bed.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "If he's really your friend he'll understand." He sat down on the bed and pulled Hermione on top of him. "Now let's focus on the important part."

"Which is?"

"We still have the rest of the day to be alone with each other here. And I intend to enjoy our time fully. Or, to be more precise, I intent to enjoy _you_ fully."

She laughed as he let himself fall back into the mattress, pulling her down after him. Yeah, they were going to enjoy their time alone.

_**Sorry for the extremely long wait. Hopefully this isn't disappointing in any way. **_

_**Look out for an epilogue…**_

_**And review to make sure the epilogue comes soon!**_

_**Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers, you have been my saviours. **_

_**As they say – when the going gets tough, read a review… or is that wrong? I don't know, don't care it's true after all.**_

_**Love to you all!**_


	19. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

She knew something was wrong when he didn't come to see her as he always did. She had been waiting in the Gryffindor Common Room for over an hour. And still there was no sign of him. Pulling a big, fluffy sweater over her head, she exited the Gryffindor tower to look for her boyfriend.

Gosh, boyfriend. It sounded so wrong, especially associated with Draco Malfoy. Even Luna had commented on it. But Hermione had brushed it off. It was just something she had to get used to; after all they had only been dating for little more than two week. It had only been two week since they had escaped death together. Hermione shuttered as she buried the bad memory. No need to dwell on those things.

She turned a corner and found the stairs to the Slytherin dungeon. She had never liked this place. Having a boyfriend who lived down there hadn't taken away that fear, but it had made it easier for her to endure. She just had to remember that at the end of these stairs were a warm, loving embrace waiting for her. Instantly she felt braver as she envisioned herself enveloped in his arms.

Reaching the wall that hid the Slytherin Common Room she said the password Draco had given her. When the wall permitted her access she stepped in and had to use a moment to get used to the dim, green light that filled the room. As her sight returned to her, she could make out a very familiar shape on the black, leather couch.

"Draco?" she said fearfully. He didn't look good, his head in his hands and his back bended. When he heard her gentle voice, his head snapped to attention.

"Hermione," he said weakly and a little smile appeared on his lips, but it only staid for a few seconds before it quivered and was replaced by a painful grimace. Forgetting all about the dim light and the cold of the stone floor, Hermione ran to Draco and wrapped her arms around him to pull him against her chest. He clung to her arms and pressed his head against her neck to inhale her soothing scent.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she stroked his hair gently.

Draco didn't answer in words, he just picked up the days issue of the _'Daily Prophet'_ and handed it to her. Still holding onto Draco with one arm, Hermione took a glance at the front page of the paper. It sported a large picture of Draco's father, the man who had been willing to kill them both, and the words _'Lucius Malfoy finally behind bars in Azkaban'_. Hermione didn't need to read the rest to know what was troubling Draco. She dropped the paper and held him close once again.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered into his ruffled, blonde hair.

"I know I shouldn't feel bad," Draco whispered in response. "He threatened my life. And even worse, he threatened yours. But he's still my father and I love him."

"I know you do," she whispered and pushed a stray lock of hair away from his forehead. "It's only natural."

Draco nodded and lifted his head a little to watch her face. Hermione gasped for breath at the sight of his beautiful face and trusting, adoring stare.

"I love you, Hermione," he sighed and smiled at her.

"I love you too," she whispered and dipped her head down to claim his lips. She couldn't imagine ever kissing someone else, and the realisation scared her profoundly. When she pulled away she was surprised to see a little tear sparkle in the corner of Draco's eyes.

"What?" she asked confused and he laughed at her ignorance.

"You love me," he laughed and brushed her cheek with his thumb.

"Yes, of course I do," she said, still confused.

"You've never said that before."

"Oh." Of course that was what was wrong. "Well, it's true."

Draco straightened up and looked deep into her eyes. Softly he cupped her face in his hands and planted a sweet, chaste kiss on her lips. When he pulled back he smiled happily at her.

"Hermione," he whispered and fingered a stray, hazel curl, "my love, Hermione."

_**I know you probably wanted something more from this epilogue, but this is where my vision took me, so this is what I wrote. **_

_**Please review – and I hope you'll still enjoy this story even though it is at its end now.**_

_**Next up I'll try to update 'We're Stuck, You and I' but I don't know how good it'll be. I don't really feel for the story anymore, and I really am one of those writers that can only write what they feel like. So it might be a little forced, but for my dear, wonderful readers, I'll try and do my best and finish it.**_


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